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Diastolic ventricular function in type 1 diabetic patients: a study using Doppler echocardiography
G Grossmann1, A Schmidt, H Hauner
1Abteilung für Kardiologie, Universität Ulm, Germany.
Insights
Type 1 diabetes patients show impaired left ventricular diastolic function, indicated by a reduced early to late transmitral flow velocity ratio. This difference diminishes after matching for heart rate.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Diabetology
- Echocardiography
Background:
- Type 1 diabetes can affect cardiac function.
- Left ventricular diastolic function is crucial for heart health.
- Diabetic patients without other cardiovascular conditions were studied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess left ventricular diastolic function in Type 1 diabetic patients.
- To investigate transmitral flow velocity patterns in diabetes.
- To determine if diabetes impacts diastolic function independently of other factors.
Main Methods:
- Echocardiography was used to study transmitral flow velocity patterns.
- 28 Type 1 diabetic patients and 39 healthy controls were analyzed.
- Doppler-derived variables, including the early to late peak flow velocity ratio (ve/va), were measured.
Main Results:
- The ve/va ratio was significantly decreased in diabetic patients (1.3 +/- 0.1 vs 1.6 +/- 0.1, p < 0.05).
- No correlation was found between ve/va and diabetes duration.
- A significant inverse correlation was observed between ve/va and heart rate in both groups.
- After heart rate matching, the decrease in ve/va in diabetic patients was no longer significant.
Conclusions:
- Type 1 diabetes may be associated with subtle left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.
- Heart rate significantly influences transmitral flow velocity patterns.
- The observed decrease in ve/va in diabetic patients might be partly explained by differences in heart rate, suggesting diastolic function is preserved after accounting for this factor.
Abstract:
The transmitral flow velocity pattern of 28 Type 1 diabetic patients and 39 age-matched healthy control subjects was studied for determination of left ventricular diastolic function. No patient had systemic hypertension, congestive heart failure, or ischaemic heart disease by clinical or electrocardiographic criteria. Echocardiographic measures of systolic ventricular function were within normal range in all subjects. The ratio of early to late transmitral peak flow velocity (ve/va) was significantly decreased in the diabetic patients (1.3 +/- 0.1 (+/- SE) vs 1.6 +/- 0.1, p less than 0.05), while other Doppler derived variables did not show any significant difference. No correlation of ve/va with duration of diabetes was found (r = -0.27), but it correlated with age in both groups (both r = -0.40, p less than 0.05). Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between ve/va and heart rate (r = -0.55 for diabetic patients, p less than 0.01; r = -0.58 for control subjects, p less than 0.01). After matching for heart rate (24 diabetic patients and 24 control subjects) no significant decrease of ve/va was observed in the diabetic group.