Echocardiography for early detection of heart disease in high risk diabetic patients

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with a significant impact on personal lifestyle and wellbeing. It is associated with a high prevalence of myocardial disease, the early detection of which is important for prevention of disease progression. Although echocardiography is recognised as a leading cardiovascular imaging modality, there has been limited work on its role in the early detection of diabetes-related myocardial dysfunction. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the role of echocardiography in the early detection of diabetes-related myocardial disease, in a population with a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methodology: A single sonographer, blinded to individual biochemical markers conducted detailed echocardiographic examinations on 407 participants from a Cape Town community with a high prevalence of diabetes mellitus. Participants were subsequently stratified by biochemical status, as normoglyceamia or hyperglycaemia. The echocardiographic features of the two groups were compared using the Pearson chi-squared and Mann-Whitney U tests. Findings: Hyperglycaemia was associated with left atrium (LA) enlargement (p ˂ 0.0014), aortic enlargement (p ˂ 0.0067) and inter-ventricular septal (IVS) thickening (p ˂ 0.0001). Conclusion: The findings suggest that echocardiography can be a useful screening tool for myocardial dysfunction in Type 2 diabetes mellitus.