Increased fractal dimension of left ventricular trabeculations is associated with subclinical diastolic dysfunction in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship among left ventricular (LV) concentric hypertrophy, endocardial remodeling, and myocardial deformation in type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Fifty-three T2DM patients with normotension and 36 healthy controls underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging to assess for LV concentric hypertrophy (LV myocardial mass index, LVMMi; LVMMi-to-LV end-diastolic volume index ratio, MVR), endocardial remodeling (fractal dimension of trabeculations, FD), and myocardial deformation (global longitudinal, radial and circumferential strain, systolic and diastolic strain rate). When compared with healthy controls, T2DM was associated with LV concentric hypertrophy (LVMMi: T2DM, 52.7 ± 8.9 g/m; controls, 48.7 ± 8.4 g/m, p = 0.032; MVR: T2DM, 0.88 ± 0.19 g/mL; controls, 0.77 ± 0.16 g/mL, p = 0.007), endocardial remodeling (max. apical FD: T2DM, 1.265 ± 0.056; controls, 1.233 ± 0.055, p = 0.008; mean apical FD: T2DM, 1.198 ± 0.043; controls, 1.176 ± 0.043, p = 0.020), and subtle diastolic dysfunction (peak longitudinal diastolic strain rate, PDSRL: T2DM, 1.1 ± 0.2/s; controls, 1.2 ± 0.3/s, p = 0.031). In the stepwise multivariable regression model, the MVR was an independent determinant of the maximum apical FD (standardized β, sβ = 0.525, p < 0.001) and mean apical FD (sβ = 0.568, p < 0.001). The mean apical FD was an independent determinant of the PDSRL (p = 0.004). LV concentric hypertrophy is an independent determinant of endocardial remodeling, a process that may contribute to subtle LV diastolic dysfunction in T2DM patients.