The right ventricular dysfunction and ventricular interdependence in patients with DM: assessment using cardiac MR...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Diabetology

Background:

• Diabetes mellitus (DM) can affect cardiac structure and function, even in patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).
• Right ventricular (RV) alterations in DM patients with preserved LVEF are not fully understood.
• Ventricular interdependence plays a crucial role in cardiac mechanics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate RV structural and functional changes in DM patients with preserved LVEF.
• To evaluate ventricular interdependence using cardiac MR (CMR) feature tracking.
• To compare RV function between DM patients and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Cardiac MR (CMR) feature tracking was used to assess biventricular strains (GLS, GCS, GR).
• 148 DM patients and 54 healthy controls were recruited.
• Multiple linear regression and mediation analyses were employed to determine DM's effects on RV strains.

Main Results:

• DM patients showed significantly decreased RVGLS and RVGCS compared to controls.
• No significant difference in RV global radial strain (RVGRS) was observed.
• LVGLS totally mediated the difference in RVGLS; LVGLS and LVGCS partly mediated the difference in RVGCS.

Conclusions:

• DM with preserved LVEF is associated with impaired RV longitudinal and circumferential strain.
• LV strain abnormalities significantly mediate RV dysfunction in these patients.
• Direct effects of DM on RVGCS may also exist.