B-type natriuretic peptide, a marker of asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction in type 2 diabetic patients

AIM

To evaluate BNP in assessing LV functions in asymptomatic type 2 diabetic patients.

METHODS

BNP was measured in 91 consecutive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. According to Doppler echocardiography, patients were first separated into three categories: normal LV function, or isolated diastolic or systolic LV dysfunction. As some patients with diastolic dysfunction were treated for hypertension, the population was divided into four groups: groups 1, 2 and 3 all had no antihypertensive treatment, and had normal LV function, and isolated diastolic and systolic LV dysfunction, respectively; and group 4 were being treated with antihypertensive drugs and had diastolic LV dysfunction.

RESULTS

In group 1, BNP levels (13+/-2 ng/L) were lower than in group 2 (87+/-20 ng/L, P<0.0001) or group 3 (213+/-32 ng/L, P<0.0001), but were similar to those of group 4 (32+/-6 ng/L, P=0.14). ROC analysis revealed a rule-out value of 23 ng/L for group 1 versus group 2, and of 239 ng/L for group 2 versus group 3. In groups 1, 2 and 3 taken together, BNP levels were correlated with urinary albumin excretion rate (r=0.80, P<0.0001) and pulse pressure (r=0.65, P<0.0001). In group 4, patients receiving ACE inhibitors had lower BNP levels than those receiving ss-blockers.

CONCLUSION

BNP can be used to pre-screen asymptomatic type 2 diabetic patients with LV dysfunction, and may reveal vascular remodelling in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

[Patient information and the cardiologist]

AIM OF THE STUDY

The patient's information prior to paraclinical testings is a part of the medical deontology and takes on increasing legal importance since new laws.

METHODS

From December 2001 to January 2002, we administered to cardiologists through the website of the French Society of Cardiology a questionnaire in order to determine the way the information is dispensed to patients and to compare the results to the survey performed in 2000.

RESULTS

Among the 293 answers obtained, 243 were utilizable. The answers were obtained from cardiologists working on private medicine (27.5%), public medicine (52.8%) or mixed (19.7%). Information was more frequently dispensed for invasive procedures: coronary angiography (92.2%), cardiac pacing (76.8%) than non invasive assessments: transesophageal echocardiography (47.6%) and treadmill test (44.7%). The most frequent information document given to patients was the one edited by the French Society of Cardiology (71.6%). In the great majority of cases, there is the prescribing cardiologist (35.9%) and/or the one performing the assessment who dispenses the information, generally the day prior the examination (73.5%) with additive explanations (91.4%). Few patients refuse the examination after information. The situation where the assessment is performed on a patient without the faculty of understanding modalities and the necessity of that examination is in emergency (45%). In 63.4% of cases, the cardiologist requires the patients signature on the information document.

CONCLUSION

Information dispensation prior to an examination is generally well done by cardiologists. The evidence of the information's dispensation is not at ease and most of cardiologists require written document from their patients, which is not legally necessary.

[Patient information. First evaluation]

The recent harmonisation of the jurisprudence between the Court of Appeal and State Council has affected medical responsibility because it is now the physician's obligation to prove that the information to the patient has been properly given: it is, therefore, a current issue. A first evaluation was undertaken to determine the modalities of patient information in cardiology by an enquiry of cardiologists working in the public and private sectors. The results show that information to patients was given concerning complementary investigations such as exercise stress testing, transoesophageal echocardiography, coronary angiography and cardiac pacing; the information was more often given for invasive procedures. In the great majority of cases (92%), it is the prescribing or operating physician who gives this information, usually the day before the procedure, with complementary oral explanations in about 90% of cases. Patient information, therefore, seems to be well done by cardiologists. However, the proof of information is not always easy, written consent, signed by the patient, not being compulsory at present.

Lower-limb vascularization in diabetic patients. Assessment by thallium-201 scanning coupled with exercise myocardial scintigraphy

OBJECTIVE

To investigate, by thallium-201 scanning, circulation in the muscles of the lower limb (LL) in diabetic patients without clinical peripheral vascular disease but with a high cardiovascular risk profile.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A total of 80 diabetic patients (76 patients with type 2 diabetes, mean age 57.3 years, duration of diabetes 13.0 +/- 7.5 years) with more than one additional cardiovascular risk factor but no claudication were investigated. After stress testing, 1.5 MBq/kg thallium-201 was administered to perform myocardial single-photon emission computed tomography followed by LL scanning. Muscle blood flow was considered abnormal if the asymmetry in thallium-201 uptake between the two buttocks and/or thighs and/or calves was > 10%.

RESULTS

Muscle perfusion defects were found in 42% of the patients, mainly in the calves. These defects correlated with retinopathy (P = 0.042) and the HbA1c level (P = 0.044). In patients with defects in the buttock and/or thigh, the prevalence of nephropathy and retinopathy was higher than in those with isolated defects in the calf (P = 0.032 and 0.023, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that LL scanning coupled with myocardial scintigraphy is a convenient method of investigating peripheral muscle circulation. Proximal perfusion defects in patients without clinical arterial disease are associated with increased prevalence of retinopathy and nephropathy and, therefore, may be due to microvascular disease of LL muscle. Distal defects may indicate silent macrovascular disease of the LL.

Predictive value of cardiac autonomic neuropathy in diabetic patients with or without silent myocardial ischemia

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine the predictive value of silent myocardial ischemia (SMI) and cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN) in asymptomatic diabetic patients.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We recruited 120 diabetic patients with no history of myocardial infarction or angina, a normal 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), and two or more additional risk factors. SMI assessment was carried out by means of an ECG stress test, a thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy with dipyridamole, and 48-h ECG monitoring. CAN was searched for by standardized tests evaluating heart rate variations. Accurate follow-up information for 3-7 years (mean 4.5) was obtained in 107 patients.

RESULTS

There was evidence of SMI in 33 patients (30.7%). CAN was detected in 33 of the 75 patients (38.9%) who were tested, and a major cardiac event occurred in 11 of them. Among these 75 patients, the proportion of major cardiac events in the SMI+ patients was not significantly higher than that in the SMI- patients (6 of 25 vs. 5 of 50 patients), whereas it was significantly higher in the CAN+ patients than in the CAN- patients (8 of 33 vs. 3 of 42 patients; P = 0.04), with a relative risk of 4.16 (95% CI 1.01-17.19) and was the highest in the patients with both SMI and CAN (5 of 10 patients). After adjusting for SMI, there was a significant association between CAN and major cardiac events (P = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

In asymptomatic diabetic patients, CAN appears to be a better predictor of major cardiac events than SMI. The risk linked to CAN appears to be independent of SMI and is the highest when CAN is associated with SMI.

Determinants of echocardiographically measured left ventricular mass in diabetic patients with or without silent myocardial ischaemia

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a recognized independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to assess the determinants of left ventricular mass index (LVMI), according to the presence or absence of silent myocardial ischaemia (SMI), in diabetic patients with at least two additional risk factors but with no known coronary artery disease. Eighty diabetic patients (14 Type 1 and 66 Type 2) were studied, and LVMI was measured echocardiographically. Three non-invasive tests (the ECG stress test, thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy with intravenous dipyridamole infusion, and ambulatory 48-h ECG monitoring) were performed on all patients. Forty-five percent of patients had LVH (LVMI > or = 110 g/m2 in men and > or = 106 g/m2 in women). Twenty-six patients (37%) had SMI assessed on at least one of the non-invasive tests, 7 of whom had significant coronary stenoses on angiography. LVMI was significantly higher in patients with coronary stenoses on angiography than in those with SMI but without coronary stenoses or in those without SMI (p < 0.05), and was correlated with systolic blood pressure. In patients free of SMI, LVMI correlated with creatininemia. In patients with SMI and normal coronary arteries on angiography, LVMI correlated with the waist/hip girth ratio, the log urinary albumin excretion rate and the red blood cell filtration index (a rigidity index). This study suggests that LVH is very frequent in diabetic patients and that the main factor contributing to the increase of LVMI differs according to the presence or absence of SMI and coronary stenoses: volume load in patients free of SMI, microcirculatory disorders in those with SMI but with normal coronary arteries, and blood pressure in those with coronary stenoses.

Silent myocardial ischaemia and left ventricle hypertrophy in diabetic patients

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of three noninvasive techniques to detect silent myocardial ischaemia and analyse the factors associated with this condition, particularly left ventricular hypertrophy, in diabetic patients. An ECG stress test, a thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy with dipyridamole intravenous infusion, ambulatory 48 h ECG monitoring and an echocardiographic study were performed in 92 diabetic patients without cardiac symptoms but with > or = 2 additional cardiovascular risk factors. At least one of these tests was positive in 28 patients (30.4%), suggesting silent myocardial ischaemia. Twenty-four of these patients had a coronary angiography which showed significant coronary stenosis in only 9 cases. An accurate echocardiographic tracing was obtained in 79 patients, particularly in 7 of the 9 with coronary stenosis. Left ventricular hypertrophy was detected in 34 patients, 6 of whom had coronary stenosis. In patients with left ventricular hypertrophy, the positive predictive values of myocardial scintigraphy and the ECG stress test were respectively 50% and 100%, as compared to only 33% and 11% in those without hypertrophy. In summary, coronary stenoses were found in < 10% of asymptomatic diabetic patients with > or = 2 cardiovascular risk factors, but more frequently in individuals with left ventricular hypertrophy. Thus, silent myocardial ischaemia should be searched for first in diabetic patients with hypertrophy, for which the stress test was the most accurate detection method in this study.

[Cardiomyopathies during acquired immunodeficiency syndrome]

Myocardial involvement in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is well established on clinical data, echocardiographic studies, macropathological findings and histological studies on autopsy or endomyocardial biopsy specimens. The condition may present with asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction with a low ejection fraction, acute or subacute myocarditis or cardiac failure and dilated cardiomyopathy. A few cases of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with HIV infection have also been reported.

[Influence of the risk factors of atherosclerosis on the onset of early peri-operative complications in peripheral arterial surgery]

The influence of classical atherosclerosis risk factors (male sex, smoking, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, overweight and hypertension on peri-hospital mortality and morbidity were studied in 83 patients (68 men and 15 women) aged 63 +/- 13 years and undergoing peripheral arterial surgery. None of these factors was statistically correlated with peri-operative complications with the exception of hypertension but the correlation was slight (0.5 less than p less than 0.10). In contrast, there was a powerful statistical (p less than 0.0003) link between age and morbidity and mortality associated with this type of surgery.

Myocarditis in adult Still's disease

An original case study of a myocardial involvement in a patient with adult Still's disease is presented. The fibrinoid necrosis appearance of a myocardial vessel is an unusual finding at histology.

[Dilated myocarditis and cardiomyopathies. The dysimmune hypothesis]

A causal relationship between myocarditis and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy has long been suspected. Humoral and cellular immune mechanisms are most probably involved in the pathogenesis of these diseases. Human genotype may influence the outcome of lymphocytic myocarditis by means of the major histocompatibility complex.

Chronic constrictive pericarditis associated with asbestosis

Observation of chronic constrictive pericarditis associated with pulmonary asbestosis is reported here. Heart catheterization revealed typical patterns of cardiac constriction. The diagnosis of asbestosis was based on pathologic features associated with a long history of asbestos dust exposure without evidence for tuberculosis. The etiology of this constrictive pericarditis was related to an asbestosis pericarditis involvement.

[Identification of prognostic criteria of dilated cardiomyopathies associated with chronic alcoholism. 22 cases]

Between November, 1978 and August, 1983, 22 patients aged from 28 to 65 years with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy diagnosed on the basis of clinical and haemodynamic criteria were investigated. All these patients, who consumed alcohol in excessive amounts, were followed up for 1 to 58 months. The overall mortality rate was 10 p. 100 at 4 months and 25 p. 100 at 58 months. Six patients were clinically improved with reduction of heart size (group A); 10 patients showed deterioration with 3 deaths (group C) and 6 patients followed an intermediate course (group B). When the characteristics of the groups were evaluated, it was found that compared to group C patients those in groups A and B had a lower cardiothoracic ratio: 0.56 +/- 0.04 (B) vs 0.64 +/- 0.06 (C) (P less than 0.02), a lower indexed end-diastolic diameter and systolic diameter on TM echo: 3.20 +/- 0.50 cm/m2 (A) vs 4.13 +/- 0.39 cm/m2 (C) (P less than 0.02), and 2.72 +/- 0.37 cm/m2 (A) vs 3.57 +/- 0.47 cm/m2 (C) (P less than 0.02) respectively, and a lower indexed end-diastolic volume as evaluated by angiography: 121 +/- 61 ml/m2 (A) vs 202 +/- 65 ml/m2 (C) (P less than 0.06). Dilated cardiomyopathy associated with excessive alcohol consumption has a better prognosis when the patients stop drinking and when their heart dilatation is mild to moderate.

Assessment by dipyridamole-thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy of coronary risk before peripheral vascular surgery

From October 1983 to January 1985, 46 patients (38 men and 8 women; average age, 60 years; range, 37 to 83 years) underwent peripheral vascular surgery of either the internal carotid artery or the arteries of the lower limbs. Each patient had a thorough clinical examination, an ECG, and a dipyridamole-thallium-201 myocardial scan before operation. On the basis of results, they were divided into two groups: 20 patients with and 26 patients without chronic ischemic heart disease. Three major cardiac events were noted during or after a period of 1 month after surgery: There were two deaths due to cardiac ischemic events and one patient had postoperative unstable angina pectoris. These three patients were classified in the coronary group (NS). When the patients were classified on the basis of whether or not there was thallium redistribution on serial images after infusion of dipyridamole, 14 with redistribution and 32 without redistribution were noted. The three patients who had major cardiac events were in the former group (p less than 0.04). Our data suggest that patients in whom redistribution occurs have a high incidence of postoperative ischemic events. These patients should be considered for particular preoperative coronary care to avoid major postoperative cardiac events and to increase chances of survival.

[Subacute myocarditis as a manifestation of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome]

A case of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome associated with myocarditis is reported. The myocarditis was peculiar in that it heralded the syndrome and followed a subacute course. It was most probably of infectious origin, although no pathogen has positively been identified; it may have been caused by a cytomegalovirus or even by the human immunodeficiency virus itself on a background of genetic predisposition. This case shows that while cardiologists are concerned with cardiac disorders occurring during AIDS, they must also consider the possibility of AIDS when confronted with a myocarditis.

Asymptomatic diabetic cardiomyopathy: a noninvasive study

Forty-nine diabetic patients (26 type I and 23 type II), free of cardiovascular disease symptoms, were compared with 32 controls in a noninvasive study of left ventricular (LV) function. Absence of ischemic cardiopathy was confirmed by routine investigations and an exercise electrocardiogram using 12 leads with a thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy. Diabetic patients had (1) a significantly prolonged mean isovolumetric relaxation time (IVRT) assessed by M-mode echocardiography and phonomechanography; (2) a significantly reduced E-F slope; (3) an increased mean Weissler index (pre-ejection period/LV ejection time). The IVRT and E-F slope abnormalities reflect increased myocardial stiffness and impaired LV compliance. The increased Weissler index reflects impaired myocardial contractility. These abnormalities were not related to sex, age, duration of diabetes or to the presence or extent of complications. No significant difference was found between diabetic patients and controls for mean diastolic and systolic LV diameters, thickness of the posterior wall or of the interventricular septum, assessed by echocardiography, or for the ejection fraction, determined by radionuclide angiocardiography. Finally, more than half of the patients with a frankly abnormal IVRT, Weissler index and E-F slope had had diabetes for less than 5 years, some even less than 2 years, without complications. These data show: (1) evidence of LV dysfunction specific to diabetes and unrelated to ischemic cardiopathy and hypertension; (2) the possible involvement of a metabolic factor in this early asymptomatic LV abnormality rather than microangiopathy.

[Radiation-related atrioventricular block]

Twelve years after mediastinal irradiation for Hodgkin's disease, a 38-years old man developed an infra-hisian atrioventricular block with syncopes. The rarity of this complication of radiotherapy is emphasized. A review of the literature yielded only 6 cases of atrioventricular block associated with cobalt therapy; a pathological examination was performed in two of these patients and an electrophysiological study in two others.

[Evaluation by myocardial thallium-201 scintigraphy using dipyridamole of the coronary risk in peripheral vascular surgery]

From October 1983 to January 1985, 46 patients (38 men and 8 women; mean age 60 years, range 37-83) underwent peripheral vascular surgery either of the internal carotid artery or of arteries of the lower limbs. All patients had thorough clinical examination, ECG and thallium dipyridamole myocardial scanning before operation, as a result of which they were divided into 20 with, and 26 without chronic ischemic heart disease. Three major cardiac events were noted during or following a period of one month after surgery: two deaths due to a cardiac ischemic event and one post-operative unstable angina pectoris. The three patients with these complications were classified in the coronary group (NS). When the patients were reclassified according to the presence or absence of thallium redistribution on serial images after dipyridamole, 14 had redistribution and 32 had no redistribution. The three major cardiac events were found to have occurred in the group with redistribution (P less than 0.04). Our study suggests that patients with redistribution have a high incidence of postoperative ischemic events. They should be considered for a particular pre-operative coronary management to avoid post-operative major cardiac events and to improve survival.

[Antigens A and B of the HLA system in dilated cardiomyopathies related to alcohol]

It has been hypothesized that dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is of dysimmune origin. Conventional immunological studies have provided no evidence that a primary disregulation of immune mechanisms is involved. In the present study, the possibility of an individual predisposition to DCM resting on a preferential distribution of HLA system antigens has been investigated. Typing of the HLA system antigens A and B was performed in a group of 38 DCM patients who were heavy drinkers. The results were compared with those obtained in: (a) 57 alcoholic patients without cardiopathy, and (b) a population of 306 healthy subjects. All subjects were caucasians. Compared with alcoholic patients without cardiac disease, DCM patients had a prevalence of B8 allele. The relative risk of developing DCM was 2.83 in the presence of the B8 antigen. This result suggests a genetic predisposition to DCM: the B8 allele, prevalent among our patients, is associated with the phenotype of numerous autoimmune diseases. This study therefore supports the theory that DCM is of dysimmune origin, but this must be confirmed by further investigations conducted on a larger number of cases.

[Comparative value of 24-hour ECG monitoring and standardized maneuvers in the detection and exploration of cardiac autonomic neuropathy in diabetics]

24-hour continuous electrocardiographic ECG monitoring and standardized tests were performed to detect cardiac autonomic neuropathy in diabetic patients. Thirty-eight patients, with a mean duration of diabetes of 10 years, twenty-five IDDM and thirteen NIDDM, and thirty-two controls, with no illness or treatment which could alter the heart rate (HR), were studied. Five standardized tests were performed. Three tests investigated parasympathetic function: variations of HR during Valsalva manoeuvre, deep breathing and standing. The other two tests investigated sympathetic function: detection of orthostatic hypotension and blood pressure response to sustained handgrip. Parasympathetic HR control was impaired in twenty-nine patients, together with impaired sympathetic cardiovascular control in seven. According to the 6 indices studied, 24-hour ECG monitoring detected abnormalities in only eight patients. Mean minimum 24-hour HR and mean sleeping HR were elevated in the group of patients whose five standardized tests were normal and in the group of patients with impairment of both parasympathetic and sympathetic cardiovascular control, but not in the group of patients with only impaired parasympathetic HR control. This study suggests that 24-hour ECG monitoring is a less sensitive test of cardiac autonomic neuropathy than standardized tests. Moreover, it shows HR abnormalities that are not specific to cardiac autonomic neuropathy.

[Statistical study of the profitability of recording cardiac electric activity by Holter's technic in diagnostic practice. Apropos of 200 cases]

The ambulant recording of the electrocardiogram by the Holter technique has become one of the non invasive examinations widely used in two indications: paroxysmal arrhythmias and coronary disease. However, the technical limitations of the method and the occasionally improper extension of the indications of Holter recording lead to disappointing results. The aim of this work is an estimation of the usefulness of Holter as a function of the desired information by a statistical study. Of 646 consecutive recordings, 200 were taken at random; 169 usable ones were classed in 7 categories according to the clinical requirement; the overall usefulness amounts to 27.5 percent of the cases in which Holter permits a diagnosis. As far as paroxysmal disturbances of rhythm are concerned, Holter is more efficacious than the standard electrocardiogram. However, the efficiency of the method is low: 17.4 percent of cases when it was required to find a cardiac arrhythmia causing a cerebral vascular accident, and even lower, 5.1 percent, when a malaise was concerned. In 20 percent of the cases was a useful tool in diagnosing thoracic pain. In 9.5 percent of the cases the tracings were not interpretable owing to their poor quality. These findings urge more rigor in the choice of indications and a better control of technical problems if the efficacy of the method is to be improved.

[Abnormalities of 24 hour (Holter) ECG monitoring in diabetics: involvement of cardiac autonomic neuropathy and/or insulin therapy]

In order to detect evidence of cardiac autonomic neuropathy, 24-hour continuous electrocardiographic monitoring was carried out on fifty-one diabetic patients (thirty-one IDD, twenty NIDD) and twenty-two healthy controls taking no treatment which could alter the heart rate. In the diabetic patients the minimum 24-hour heart-rate and the mean sleeping heart rate were significantly higher, and the maximum 24-hour heart rate and the ratio [(maximum-minimum heart rates)/minimum heart rate] were significantly lower. Evidence in one diabetic of cardiac autonomic neuropathy was found only as the difference (maximum-minimum heart rates). This index was found to be below 38/min (mean-2 SD of the controls) in seven diabetics, but only one of the nine diabetics with signs of autonomic neuropathy had this abnormal index. The mean values for the minimum and the mean sleeping heart rates were high in the IDD with or without signs of peripheral neuropathy and without signs of autonomic neuropathy but were not high in IDD with signs of autonomic neuropathy. These findings suggest the presence of cardiac autonomic neuropathy in diabetics. However, the possibility of insulin-induced tachycardia should be considered this tachycardia is probably related to stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, which would explain the absence of abnormalities in IDD with autonomic neuropathy.

[Existence of asymptomatic changes in left ventricular function in the diabetic. Noninvasive study]

49 diabetics (D) (26 IDD and 23 NIDD) were compared to 32 controls (C). Absence of ischemic cardiopathy (IC) was confirmed by routine investigations and noninvasive cardiovascular techniques, including an exercise ECG using 12 leads and a thallium 201 scintigraphy. Our results show: a) a prolonged mean isovolumetric relaxation time (IVRT) as studied by the M mode echocardiography and phonomechanography: D = 0,10 sec +/- 0,04; C = 0,05 sec +/- 0,02; p less than 0,0001; b) a reduced mean EF slope: D = 97,48 +/- 37,08 mm / sec; C = 125,68 +/- 34,35; p less than 0,005; c) a high mean Weissler index (ratio of PEP to LVET): D = 40 +/- 0,08; C = 33 +/- 0,05; p less than 0,01. IVRT and EF slope abnormalities are related to increased myocardial stiffness and impaired LV compliance. In the absence of changes in preload and afterload, the high Weissler index reflects impaired contractility of the myocardium. These abnormalities are related neither to the duration of diabetes nor to the presence or severity of the complications. With the M mode echocardiography, mean diastolic and systolic thickness of the septum is greater in D with retinopathy than in C (p less than 0,005 and p less than 0,03 respectively); mean diastolic and systolic thickness of the posterior wall is greater in NIDD than in C (p less than 0,001 and p less than 0,025). We conclude that there is evidence of left ventricular functional abnormalities specific to diabetes and unrelated to IC and hypertension. Our findings support the hypothesis that they may be due to metabolic disorders and/or myocardial microangiopathy.

[Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis. A new case]

Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis is a rare disorder of the skin and joints that possesses distinctive histologic findings. A case is reported with typical features, and ulceration, an unusual outcome of "skin" lesions.