Many Type 2s May Have Heart Disorder and Not Know It

The January issue of Diabetes Care reports that many people with diabetes may have a heart disorder called left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD), despite being in good control.

LVDD, according to Canadian researchers, is an impairment in the relaxation phase of the heart’s left ventricle-the main pumping chamber. This can lead to increased pressure and fluids in the lungs or in vessels that return blood to the heart and may be the first sign of diabetes-related heart damage.

Researchers at the Quebec Heart Institute observed 46 men who did not display any signs of heart disease. The researchers performed Doppler echocardiography, a technique that produces images of the heart in motion, in conjunction with measurements of the flow of blood in the lungs.

The researchers report that 60 percent of the men in the study had LVDD, which is much more prevalent than previously suggested in subjects with type 2 diabetes who are free of clinically detectable heart disease.