Subclinical Impairment of Left Ventricular Function assessed by Speckle Tracking in Type 2 Diabetic Obese and Non-Obese Patients: Case Control Study

OBJECTIVES: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and obesity are an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, so early prediction of LV dysfunction carries better prognosis. So our aim was to assess the subclinical LV dysfunction in type 2 diabetic obese and non-obese patients using two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2DSTE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 93 patients, including two groups of 31 each with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), divided by body mass index (BMI), and 31 non-diabetic non-obese controls. All these subjects underwent two-dimensional Echo (2DE) imaging with analysis of conventional parameters of systolic and diastolic function, as well as speckle tracking echocardiography s (STE) analysis of LV global and regional longitudinal strain. RESULTS: We reported significant inter-group differences in parameters of diastolic function, but no significant differences in ejection fraction or fractional shortening. Nevertheless, we found significant differences in strain, which we interpreted as evidence of subclinical systolic dysfunction. CONCLUSION: 2DSTE is better than basic echocardiographic measurements in assessment of subclinical LV dysfunction in type 2 diabetic obese and non-obese patients which can be used to predict cardiomyopathic changes in the earlier course of type 2 DM and start earlier treatment with better prognosis.