Inappropriate left ventricular mass independently predicts cardiovascular mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes

摘要

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with early maladap-tive cardiovascular (CV) phenotype, characterized by increased left ventricular (LV) mass (LVM), concentric geometry and subclinical LV dysfunction [1 ]. LVM is incongruously increased in approximately 30% of T2DM patients [2], a condition named "inappropriate" LVM (iLVM) [3]. The prognostic value of iLVM in these patients is unknown. We hypothesized that iLVM is an independent prognosticator of CV mortality among T2DM patients without overt cardiac disease.This research was conducted within the frame of the "Verona Diabetes Study" [4]. Among 937 initially eligible subjects who underwent a trans-thoracic echocardiogram during 1990-2007 for clinical reasons, 360 with T2DM without overt cardiac disease were selected. The study protocol was approved by local ethics committee and conforms to the ethical guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was acquired from each patient.