Impaired cardiac structural and functional parameters in patients with chronic heart failure and diabetic cardiac autonomic neuropathy

Abstract

AIM: To reveal the specific cardiac structural and functional features in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and diabetic cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN)/MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ninety patients aged 45-70 years with Functional Class II-III CHF in the early post-myocardial infarction period and with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) were examined. A study group of 60 patients had signs of CAN (Group 1); a control group of 60 patients presented with CHF and DM2 without signs of CAN (Group 2)/RESULTS: The patients with CHF and DM2 with the manifestations of CAN were found to have higher left ventricular mass indices and greater QT dispersion than those with CHF and DM2 without CAN; there was a significant decrease in heart rate variability and a statistically significant preponderance of hypersympathicotonia/CONCLUSION: A clinically important relationship was found between cardiac autonomic dysregulation, CAN severity in patients with CHD and DM2 and cardiac structural and functional parameters.

Keywords

• cardiac structural and functional parameters
• cardiac autonomic neuropathy
• heart rate variability