Transthoracic echocardiographic abnormalities in asymptomatic diabetic patients: association with microalbuminuria and silent coronary artery disease

This study aimed to assess, on routine echocardiography, cardiac left ventricular (LV) disorders, their determinants and their role in the screening process of silent myocardial ischaemia (SMI) in asymptomatic diabetic patients. A total of 586 asymptomatic diabetic patients with one or more additional cardiovascular risk factors, but no history of heart failure or myocardial infarction, prospectively underwent rest echocardiography and myocardial scintigraphy. Those with SMI (abnormal scintigraphy) were subsequently screened for angiographic coronary artery disease (CAD). LV hypertrophy, LV dilatation, systolic dysfunction and hypokinesia were found in 33.6, 8.6, 3.2 and 6.1%, respectively, of the study population. SMI was found in 156 (26.6%) patients, 55 of whom had silent CAD. On multivariate analysis, age (OR: 1.03 [1.00-1.05], P=0.02), microalbuminuria (OR: 2.2 [1.4-3.2], P<0.0001) and silent CAD (OR: 2.4 [1.3-4.6], P=0.007) were predictive of LV hypertrophy. Creatinine clearance (OR: 0.97 [0.96-0.99], P=0.002) and silent CAD (OR: 3.7 [1.3-10.0]) were associated with LV dilatation. LV systolic dysfunction was associated with microalbuminuria (OR: 3.8 [1.3-11.4], P=0.02) and silent CAD (OR: 3.8 [1.1-12.6], P=0.03). Hypokine...Continue Reading