Non-invasive assessment of left ventricular function in diabetics without clinical heart disease.

Left ventrical performance was assessed by systolic and diastolic time intervals measured echocardiographically in 24 diabetic patients without clinical heart disease and in 18 healthy subjects. It was found that diabetics had longer PEP, higher PEP/LVET ratio and longer IVRT (p less than 0.01). The possible pathogenetic explanations of these abnormalities are discussed and it is concluded that the measurement of time intervals is a useful method for detecting this myocardial dysfunction on the preclinical stage.