Abnormal myocardial perfusion and risk of heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background: Diabetes is a major risk factor for heart failure (HF), although the pathophysiological processes have not been clarified.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of HF and of abnormal myocardial perfusion in diabetic patients evaluated using technetium (99m) sestamibi single-photon emission computed tomography.

Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted that included patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who underwent echocardiography to diagnose HF and a pharmacological stress test with intravenous dipyridamole to examine cardiac scintigraphic perfusion abnormalities. Clinical and biochemical data were also collected.

Results: Of the 160 diabetic patients included, 92 (57.6%) were in HF and 68 (42.5%) were not. When patients were stratified according to the presence of abnormal myocardial perfusion, those with abnormal perfusion had a higher prevalence of HF (93%) than those with normal perfusion (44.4%) (P<0.0001). Patients with HF weighed more (P=0.03), used insulin less frequently (P=0.01), had lower total cholesterol (P=0.05) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations (P=0.002), and a greater number of their myocardial segments showed abnormal perfusion (P≤0.001). More HF patients had a history of myocardial infarction (P<0.001) compared with those without HF. In a logistic regression analysis, the number of segments exhibiting abnormal myocardial perfusion was an independent risk factor for HF.

Conclusions: The prevalence of HF in diabetic patients was high and HF predominantly occured in association with myocardial ischemia.