Assessment of Left Ventricular Function in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome: A Strain Imaging Study

Metabolic syndrome (MS) prevalence remains linked to elevated risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, making it a critical public health issue. Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) facilitates early detection of subclinical left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, enabling preventing or postponing cardiovascular disease development.

The objective of this study was to assess LV systolic function among MS cases by 2D-STE.

Our case-control study included 80 cases of both genders, aged between 30 and 56 years, divided into two groups: patient group (n = 50): cases Developing MS characteristics and control group (n = 30): healthy volunteers. All subjects underwent conventional echocardiographic examination and assessment of LV systolic function utilizing 2D-STE.

LV systolic function, assessed by global longitudinal strain (GLS), showed significant impairment in MS cases compared to normal subjects (-12.9 to -20.8 vs. -17 to 23.3, P < .001), with a higher proportion of females exhibiting impaired GLS than males (31 cases, 70.4% vs. 8 cases, 18.8%) and a dose-dependent correlation between an increased number of MS components and LV systolic dysfunction. Furthermore, the prevalence of LV diastolic dysfunction showed an increase within the MS group as opposed to control subjects. There was a clear strong negative correlation between global strain and waist circumference and triglyceride level (P < 0.05).

There is a correlation between MS and impaired LV systolic and diastolic function among middle-aged adults who do not exhibit any prevalent heart conditions that could be detected by speckle-tracking echocardiography.