Study of Left Ventricular Diastolic Function in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Introduction
Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DC) is defined as heart muscle disorder, due to or presumably due to Diabetes mellitus
(DM). The relationship between DC and indices of metabolic control in DM is still a matter of debate. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of DC in young diabetic patients and to find its correlation with age, duration of DM, and indices of glycemic control.
Patients and Methods
The study material consisted of 50 diabetic patients below 50 years of age and 50 age and sex matched control group. Echo was done to assess left ventricular function and to rule out other structural heart disease. Their metabolic indices were taken.
Results
Left Ventricular Function: all controls had normal LV function. Studied patients had normal LV systolic function. A total of 29 patients (58%) were found to have LV diastolic dysfunction. Grade I LVDD was most common (40%). LVDD was significantly correlated with duration of DM and age of the patient (P<0.05). There was a trend towards
higher grades of LVDD, as age of the patient and duration of DM increased. There was no significant correlation between fasting blood sugar level, serum lipid profile and LV diastolic dysfunction.
Conclusion
LVDD is very common in patients with DM. Its prevalence is related to age and duration of the disease while severity has a tendency towards these two variables but demonstrated no significant statistical value. Early detection of LVDD may have important diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic implications

Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 2 (2) 2007: pp. 85-90