Does achieving compensation through treatment reduce total blood volume, red cell mass, and plasma volume in subjects with congestive heart failure?
Congestive heart failure is associated with hypervolemia involving both red cell mass and plasma volume, which decreases upon achieving clinical compensation.
Total blood volume, red cell mass and plasma volume have been determined with radiochromium in subjects with congestive heart failure, before and after treatment. All functions were significantly increased during the congestive state and all decreased as compensation was achieved. The magnitude of the hypervolemia and the changes incident to treatment were apparently related to alterations in heart size. Selective expansion of the plasma volume was not encountered.
Eisenberg et al. (Wed,) studied this question.