Transcripts
DR. CORNEL:
The things in HUS that may
affect the heart, first and foremost,
hypertension. Hypertension is the leading cause of
heart disease in general and I am sure there is
not going to be any exception in children or
adults who had HUS.
In the acute phase hypertension
may be there but fluid and electrolyte
disturbance certainly will be. These children
get flooded with water. A lot of you have
experienced the thing much more than I have.
Anemia means that the heart has
to work much harder to deliver the oxygen to
tissues. Vasculitis, (that is the TMA, the
thrombotic microangiopathy), affects all organs.
It affects the heart, and it is just as
important a factor for the heart as any other
organ.
The uremia may affect the heart
more chronically. Myocarditis, that is
inflammation of the heart muscle as opposed to
just these other involvements, may occur. We do
not know whether it does or not.
