From combined heart–kidney to kidney transplantation program: what nephrologists should know about dilated cardiomyopathy

A 42-year-old hemodialysis (HD) patient was investigated in our department for symptomatic heart failure (HF) despite daily home dialysis. He had a history of living donor kidney transplantation at the age of 18 that lasted 7 years. Home dialysis was then started. At the age of 40, he developed acute heart failure symptoms. Echocardiography revealed severe dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Coronarography and myocardial perfusion scintigraphy showed no abnormal findings. Betablockers were administrated, and RAAS inhibitor dosing was optimized. Dyspnea persisted, and patient was referred to our department. At admission, blood pressure was 116/82 mmHg, and pulse 68 beats/min. No peripheral edema was observed. Dry weight was 62.5 kg. Patient was anuric. Hemoglobin level was 9.8 g/dl, highly sensitive troponin level was 62 ng/ml, and BNP level was 1527 ng/ml. The liver enzyme levels were normal. C-reactive protein was 4.2 mg/ml. Vitamin level, zinc levels, and thyroid function were normal.