Level of serum copeptın ın congestıve heart faılure

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) due to a decrease in heart pumping function with not fully understood mechanism, and showing the rapid progression with hemodynamic abnormalities, impaired exercise capacity and neurohumoral activation, is a syndrome with high morbidity and mortality because of mechanical insufficiency of heart to provide the systemic perfusion to tissues. Vasopressin is an antidiuretic and vasoconstrictor hormone and has effects on free water absorption, body fluid osmolarity, blood volume, and vasculer tone. In addition, it is thought to be caused cell proliferation. All these effects are regulated via V2 (renal) and VIa (vasculer) receptors. The informations on vasopressin related to severity of heart failure, duration of illness are present. Vasopressin is a hormone which is difficult to measure, because of the large amount of vasopressin is bound to platelets and it is quickly cleared from blood. Copeptin is a part of pre-pro-vasopressin and synthesized equal molar amount with vasopressin. The advantage of co-peptin is its stability for a long time, rapidly measurement from plasma and its meaningful measurments. Its level was showed to be increased in patients with coronary heart disease and congestive heart failure (CHF). Copeptin has been demonstrated to be an important predictive marker at least as valuable as BNP for the course of disease in patients with CHF.At the Cardiology Department of Firat University Hospital between May 2010 and April 2011, total 80 cases which were composed of 40 patient (experimental group) who were hospitalized for CHF diagnosed according to phsical examination and laboratory findings, and in addition to having Ejection Fraction (EF) decreased to %40 or below and impaired ventriculer functions [mean age: 56,37 ± 8.71 years; 55% of this group was male (n:22) and %45 was female (n:180)] and 40 cases (control group) with no complaining of CHF symptoms and signs, preserved ventriculer functions [mean age: 51.22±8.70 years; 50% of this group was male (n:20), and other %50 was female (n:20)] included in this study. After centrifugation of blood taken from cases, and obtained serum was stored at -20 degree and copeptin levels was measured in serum by ELISA method. Also, the levels of routine biochemical parameters were measured by the autoanalyzer.Copeptin levels were found higher in patients with CHF than control group. It was seen that when severity of the disease was increased, copeptin levels were significantly increased.In conclusion, serum copeptin levels were significantly increased in patients with CHF when compared with control group in our study. Measurement of copeptin levels may be a predictor of CHF; but for this purpose it is clear that randomized, prospective long-term follow-up studies are required. We believe that our study is one of the pioneering studies on this issue and will shed light futher studies about this issue.Keyword: Heart failure, copeptin