Atrial electromechanical delay in type 2 diabetes mellitus

• DOI: 10.1007/s00508-013-0477-1
• Publication Date: 2014-01-14T10:53:02Z
• Authors: Ahmet Akyel; Fatih Öksüz; Muhammed Karadeniz; Mikail Yarlıoğlueş; Gökhan Ergün; Tayyar Cankurt; Ahmet Yozgat; Müge Keskin Arıel; Yalçın Aral; Sani Namık Murat
• Keywords: Male; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Heart Conduction System; Atrial Fibrillation; Humans; Female; Heart Atria; Middle Aged; Myocardial Contraction; Excitation Contraction Coupling; 3. Good health

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an independent risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF). Increased atrial electromechanical delay (AEMD) is known to be a precursor of AF. In this study, we aimed to investigate AEMD in patients with type 2 DM.A total of 110 participants were recruited to the present study. Of them, 70 were diabetic patients, and 40 were healthy control subjects. Basal characteristics were recorded and transthoracic echocardiography was performed for all study participants.Basal characteristics were similar between the two groups. There was significant intra-atrial and interatrial electromechanical delay in the diabetic group compared with the control group. In the correlation analysis, no correlation existed between AEMD and hemoglobin A1C or fasting plasma glucose levels.In the present study, we showed that there was significant AEMD in patients with type 2 DM compared with healthy control subjects. Increased AEMD might be an early marker of AF in this patient subset. To clear this hypothesis, further studies are needed.