OBJECTIVE

Diabetes is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and impaired systolic function in hypertensive patients, but less is known about its impact on LVH regression and functional improvement during antihypertensive treatment.

RESULTS

We performed annual echocardiography in 730 non-diabetic and 93 diabetic patients (aged 55-80 years) with hypertension and electrocardiographic LVH during 4.8-year losartan- or atenolol-based treatment in the Losartan Intervention For Endpoint reduction in hypertension (LIFE) study. Baseline mean blood pressure (BP) and LV mass did not differ between groups. Diabetic patients had higher body mass index and pulse pressure, and lower LV ejection fraction, midwall shortening, stress-corrected midwall shortening, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (all p<0.05), and were more likely to have albuminuria. Despite comparable BP reduction in diabetic and non-diabetic groups during treatment (33/18 vs. 28/16mmHg (ns)), diabetes was associated with higher prevalence of persistent LVH (47 vs. 39%, p<0.05). In multivariate analyses, diabetes independently predicted less LV mass reduction and less improvement in stress-corrected LV midwall shortening (both p<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Among hypertensive patients with LVH, diabetes is associated with more residual LVH and less improvement in systolic LV function by echocardiography over 4.8 years of antihypertensive treatment.