[Analysis of left ventricular function using 2-dimensional and pulsed Doppler echocardiography in type I diabetics]

In 44 patients with type I diabetes mellitus divided into a group of 29 patients (mean age 25 years, duration of diabetes 6 years on the average) without microangdiopathic complications and into a second group of 15 patients (mean age 31 years, duration of diabetes 16 years on the average) with retinopathy and/or nephropathy, parameters of cardiac function were studied by means of two-dimensional (2D) and pulsed Doppler (PD) echocardiography. The obtained results were compared with findings recorded in a third group of 20 healthy subjects (mean age 29 years). 2D measurements of parameters such as ejection fraction, diastolic diameter of left ventricle (LV), thickness of septum and posterior wall did not reveal any significant differences between the groups studied. On analysing diastolic function expressed by maximal velocity of rapid LV filling (E), atrial systole (A), E/A ratio, and atrial systole ejection time (AET), compared to the control group, the second group presented with significantly decreased E, increased A, and reduced E/A (p less than 0.001). In the first group only a shortened AET (p less than 0.01) was recorded. AET was changed also in the second group and was found to be inversely correlated with the duration of the disease, r = -0.43, p less than 0.05).