Objective To assess the early changes of left ventricular (LV) systolic function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by speckle tracking imaging (STI). Methods 77 T2DM patients with normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were divided into 2 groups according to their blood pressure: DM group, T2DM isolated, 39 cases; and DH group, T2DM associated with hypertension (HT), 38 cases. Normal control(NC) group contained 34 healthy individuals. Standard two dimensional images were acquired from the LV apical views and short-axis views. LV systolic peak longitudinal strain (SLs), systolic peak circumferential strain (SCs) and systolic peak radial strain (SRs) were measured by STI. Results The average SLs of global LV was significantly lower in the two patient groups than that of control group (P＜0.001), and significant differences were observed between any two groups (P＜0.001). The average SCs and SRs of global LV were significantly lower only in DH group (P＜0.01),. Conclusion Left ventricular systolic function had significantly lower in T2DM patients with normal LVEF and without symptomatic heart failure.
