Background: Cardiovascular complications are a leading cause of mortality and disability in individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM). Moreover, DM can directly impact the structure and function of cardiac muscle. We conducted a study to evaluate cardiac stiffness in DM patients in both the left atrium (LA) and left ventricle (LV), as well as to assess the impact of DM on the synchronization of the LA and LV, particularly within the Vietnamese population, utilizing speckle tracking echocardiography (STE).
Methods: We studied 111 research subjects divided into two groups comprising 52 patients with DM and 59 healthy individuals. All the subjects provided relevant clinical information, and echocardiography was performed to assess the indices of LA stiffness, LV stiffness, and left atrioventricular coupling index (LACI).
Results: Our study indicated that DM patients exhibited greater LA and LV stiffness than control patients. The LACI (%) in the DM group was also greater than that in the control group (17.12% ± 6.72% vs. 12.28% ± 3.96%, respectively; p < 0.001). The LACI was positively correlated with the LA and LV stiffness indices. Decreased levels of LV GLS, adjusted for age, sex, blood pressure, and BMI, have emerged as identified risk factors for DM.
Conclusions: LA stiffness, LV stiffness, and the LACI are greater in DM patients than in normal individuals.
Keywords: diabetes mellitus; left atrial stiffness; left atrioventricular coupling index; left ventricular stiffness; speckle tracking echocardiography.
© 2024 Dang, Luong and Ho.