Brain Natriuretic Peptide as a Potential Marker of Diastolic Dysfunction in Type 2 Diabetes
- N. Norman Chan, MRCP, DCH and
- Steven J. Hurel, PHD, MRCP
- Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, University College London Hospitals, London, U.K.
In the January issue of Diabetes Care, Poirier et al. (1) reported on the prevalence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD), as determined by echocardiography in 46 middle-aged men with well-controlled type 2 diabetes. Remarkably, they found a prevalence of LVDD as high as 60%. Although this needs to be replicated with studies of much larger sample sizes, they nevertheless illustrated the importance of identifying pseudonormal patterns of ventricular filling, which have been underestimated by previous studies using Doppler assessment of transmitral flow velocity, to help diagnose early or subclinical LVDD (1). As elucidated by the excellent editorial of Gustafsson and Hildebrandt (2), the prognostic implication and possibility for intervention remain unknown and warrant further studies before early …
