Impaired left ventricular diastolic function and vascular postischemic vasodilation associated with microalbuminuria in IDDM patients.
OBJECTIVE
Microalbuminuria is considered an important predictor of cardiovascular events in diabetic patients. In this study, a possible association of microalbuminuria with significant changes in left ventricular (LV) morphology and function and generalized vascular dysfunction was analyzed in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patients without hypertension, coronary artery disease, or autonomic dysfunction.


METHODS
Thirty-four young long-term IDDM patients, 16 with and 18 without microalbuminuria, and 20 control subjects were studied. LV systolic function and wall thickness were evaluated by M-mode echocardiography. LV diastolic function was studied using a combined echo-Doppler and phonocardiographic technique. The hyperemic response to forearm ischemia was measured by strain-gauge plethysmography. All patients underwent 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.


RESULTS
LV mass index and wall thickness:radius ratio were significantly higher in microalbuminuric patients. LV relaxation was significantly impaired in both diabetic groups compared with control subjects; moreover, this impairment was significantly greater in microalbuminuric than in normoalbuminuric patients. In microalbuminuric patients, forearm postischemic vasodilation was also significantly lower and mean awake diastolic blood pressure (dBP) was significantly higher than in the other two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that microalbuminuria is associated with significant changes in LV morphology, a more severe impairment of cardiac diastolic function, altered vascular dilatory capacity, and higher daytime dBP. Therefore, microalbuminuric patients should be considered to have a higher risk of cardiovascular complications and be kept under closer surveillance.
Guglielmi
M D
MD
Centro per lo Studio e la Terapia dell'Ipertensione Arteriosa, Istituto di Fisiopatologia Medica, Chieti, Italy.
Pierdomenico
S D
SD
Salvatore
L
L
Romano
F
F
Tascione
E
E
Pupillo
M
M
Porreca
E
E
Imbastaro
T
T
Cuccurullo
F
F
Mezzetti
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000419:Albuminuria; D001794:Blood Pressure; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000652:urine; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003971:Diastole; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm / Q000098:blood supply; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D010701:Phonocardiography; D012016:Reference Values; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012119:Respiration; D013599:Systole; D014655:Vascular Resistance; D014664:Vasodilation; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000503:physiopathology*
D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin