Evaluation of Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Using Echocardiography

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common diseases in the world. Its prevalence is growing in both developed and developing countries. Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction represents the first stage of diabetic cardiomyopathy preceding changes in systolic function, without any clinical manifestations. The main objective of this study was to assess the diastolic dysfunction in diabetic patients. The study was conducted in Omdurman military hospital. 50 patients (26 males and 24 females) with known history of diabetes mellitus were enrolled in the study. All patients were scanned with ultrasound machine using linear high frequency transducer (7.5-10 MHz). The results of this study showed that diastolic dysfunction was present in 45 (90 %) of the patients. Diastolic dysfunction was more common among female (95.8%) compared to male (84.6%). The prevalence of diastolic dysfunction increased with longer duration of diabetes, age and presence of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH). The findings of this study indicate that myocardial damage in patients with diabetes affects diastolic dysfunction before systolic function. Doppler echocardiography is one of the most useful clinical tools for the assessment of left ventricular diastolic function.