RESUMEN
General patterns of growth as well as serum levels of Growth hormone[GH] and Somatomedin-C [Sm-C] were assessed in 25 healthy infants and children and in 58 patients with heart diseases [25 with rheumatic heart disease, 18 with congenital acyanotic heart disease and 15 with congenital cyanotic heart disease]. Obvious growth retardation of variable degrees was present in cardiac patients being more pronounced in congenital heart disease patients, mostly the cyanotic types. A highly significant lower serum levels of both GH and Sm were detected in cardiac patients compared to control. There was no significant difference between the serum levels of GH in the three studied groups of patients, while a highly significant difference in the serum levels of Sm existed between them. A significant lower serum levels of GH and Sm were encountered in patients below the 10th percentile, compared to those above the 10th percentile. The results of this work point to the endocrinal contribution in the development of growth retardation in cardiac patients, as suggested by the low levels of GH and Sm found in cardiac patients