Background: According to the data obtained from the country-wide NATPOL III research, the prevalence of diabetes in Poland stands at 5,6% The objective of the work was to assess the heart function of patients with type 2 diabetes by means of echocardiography.
Material and methods: 106 patients were examined: 44 people with type 2 diabetes (gr D) and 62 healthy subjects, constituting the control group (gr C). Using the criteria of diabetes control, the first group was divided into 2 subgroups: 17 patients with controlled diabetes (gr cD) and 27 patients with uncontrolled diabetes (gr uD). Next, 2 subgroups were formed according to the duration of the disease: 23 patients suffering from diabetes ≥ 10 years (gr mD) and 21 people suffering from diabetes < 10 years (gr lD). The examinations of the patients included electrocardiography and assessments of myocardial size and contractibility and diastolic activity of the left ventricle.
Results: The echocardiographic examination revealed statistically significant differences between the groups D and C, between the groups mD, lD, and C, and between the groups cD, uD, and C. Moreover, group D additionally exhibited positive linear dependences between the duration of the disease and the diastolic interventricular septum thickness and between the duration of the disease and the mass index of the left ventricle.
Conclusions: Myocardial differences observed in the echocardiographic image of a diabetic compared to a healthy person suggest myocardial dysfunction caused by diabetes. The existing differences between the group with controlled diabetes and the group with uncontrolled diabetes indicate that development of organic complications in diabetic patients can only be slowed down with procedures to normalise carbohydrate and lipid metabolic parameters and the arterial blood pressure.