Arq. Bras. Cardiol. 2019; 113(2): 216-217

New Method Improves the Evaluation of Subclinical Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Lutfu Askin , Okan Tanrıverdi, Hakan Tibilli, Serdar Turkmen

DOI: 10.5935/abc.20190164

This Short Editorial is referred by the Research article "Presystolic Wave is Associated with Subclinical Left Ventricular Dysfunction Assessed by Myocardial Performance Index in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus".

Tei et al. firstly described the myocardial performance index (MPI), which is showing both systolic and diastolic functions of the left ventricle. As a prognostic marker increased MPI has been shown to be an independent predictor of mortality and morbidity in various diseases such as myocardial infarction, hypertension, diabetes, and heart failure.^, Askin et al. showed that left ventricular (LV) diastolic and systolic functions were negatively affected in prediabetic patients. In addition, MPI can also be used in the assessment of abnormal cardiac function parameters in prediabetic patients. Furthermore, the most prominent feature of our method is that it can be obtained in a short period of time with easily available equipment. It is important to identify subclinical left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) for clinical prevention before significant LVDD occurs. For this purpose, MPI is used to identify subclinical LVD in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).

Presystolic wave (PSW) measurement is obtained via doppler examination of LV outflow tract (LVOT).^, Kul et al. found that the PSW is associated with subclinical LVDD in patients with type 2 diabetes. PSW is an easily measurable echocardiographic parameter obtained in late diastole and can predict subclinical left ventricular dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes. Possible causes of PSW formation are impaired LV compliance and increased LV stiffness, which are also leading causes of PSW in diabetic patients among others. Furthermore, the relationship between PSW and LVDD has been proven.

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