Cardiovascular changes in patients with type I diabetes with and without autonomic dysfunction

ABSTRACT

Diabetic complications - either microvascular or macrovascular - represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients[1]. Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy is one of the complications of type I diabetes mellitus. It may lead to life discomfort or even it may be the direct cause of death in diabetic patients. Early detection of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy is of major clinical interest that could lead to a more intensive supervision of diabetic patients.[2] Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy induces different functional cardiac changes, especially a reduction in left ventricular contractility and changes in ventricular repolarization.[3] This study was designed to estimate the prevalence of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy among a group of children with type I diabetes mellitus, to assess the cardiac function in the same group of patients by echocardiography and to relate the abnormalities to the duration of diabetes, glycemic control and other risk factors