Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in patients with metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is a cluster of medical disorders, is common and it is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between characteristics of metabolic syndrome and the grade of diastolic dysfunction. The study included 72 patients (29 male and 43 female), who had central obesity and at least two of the other four characteristics of metabolic syndrome according to IDF (International Diabetes Federation) criteria. The exclusion criteria were age above 65, impaired systolic function (left ventricular ejection fraction <55%), atrial fibrillation, valvular and pericardial heart disease. Diastolic function was determined according to the criteria of the American Society of Echocardiography. There was a positive correlation between the number of characteristics of metabolic syndrome and the diastolic dysfunction grade (p<0.0001). The positive correlation was found between the grade of diastolic dysfunction and the waist circumference (p<0.0001), arterial hypertension (p<0.001), pared glucose tolerance/diabetes (P=0.0063), and hypertriglyceridemia (p=0.0262). A low level of high-density lipoprotein did not show a statistically significant correlation. The presence of metabolic syndrome is associated with the presence of diastolic dysfunction. The grade of diastolic dysfunction is dependent on the number of coexisting characteristics of metabolic syndrome. Arterial hypertension, central obesity, hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia showed a significant correlation with the degree of diastolic dysfunction