Aortic stiffness, concentric LV remodeling linked in T2DM

(HealthDay)—For patients with type 2 diabetes, aortic stiffness is associated with concentric left ventricular (LV) remodeling, according to a study published online April 16 in Diabetes.

Gaurav S. Gulsin, M.B.Ch.B., from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, and colleagues used multiparametric cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging to examine the correlation between aortic stiffness and LV geometry in younger adults with type 2 diabetes. Eighty adults with type 2 diabetes and no cardiovascular disease and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited. Bio-anthropometric assessment and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, including measurement of aortic stiffness by aortic distensibility (AD), were conducted.

The researchers found that, compared with controls, participants with type 2 diabetes had increased LV mass, concentric LV remodeling, and lower AD. There was an independent correlation for AD with concentric LV remodeling in type 2 diabetes on multivariable analysis.

"Aortic stiffness may therefore be a potential therapeutic target to prevent the development of heart failure in type 2 diabetes," the authors write.

The study was partially funded by Novo Nordisk.