Abstract

This study was designed prospectively to investigate the diastolic properties of the left ventricle with respect to timing of diastolic events by echophonocardiography in 33 normals and 14 diabetics. A newly devised, so called-posterior wall relaxation ratio was proposed as a diastolic index, which proved significant (33 % vs 50 % p<0.05). Prolongation of both the isovolumic relaxation time and minimum dimension to mitral valve opening were observed which lead to the conclusion that diabetic diastolic dysfunction is very much like the dysfunction of hypertensive hypertrophic heart disease.