July - September 2014, Volume 10, Issue 3

Anghel L, Arsenescu Georgescu C

What is Hiding the Diabetes in the New Left Bundle Branch Block Patients?

Acta Endo (Buc) 2014, 10 (3): 425-434
doi: 10.4183/aeb.2014.425

Background. Diabetes mellitus and new left bundle branch block (LBBB) increase the risk of adverse cardiac outcomes and are considered a coronary artery disease equivalent. Objective. The aim of our study was to determine whether the presence of new or presumably new left bundle branch block could be the first manifestation of coronary artery disease in diabetic patients. Design. We performed a crosssectional analysis which included 273 patients with new LBBB admitted between January 2011 and June 2013 in the Cardiovascular Diseases Institute Iasi. The median follow-up was 7 days (hospitalization period). Patients were divided into two groups according to their glycemic status: diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Results. Our study demonstrates that the presence of new LBBB in diabetic patients is unequivocally associated and could be the first manifestation of an extensive coronary artery disease. Diabetic patients had either one, two or three coronary artery diseases (48.09%) and were more likely to have a decreased ejection fraction (EF) < 50% (p <0.001), almost half of them having an EF <30 %. Conclusions. The association of diabetes mellitus with new LBBB is a high probability criterion for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease, even in asymptomatic patients.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, new left bundle branch block, coronary artery disease, left ventricular dysfunction.

Correspondence: Larisa Anghel MD, PhD, “Prof. Dr. George I. M. Georgescu” Cardiovascular Diseases Institute , Carol I Avenue, 50, Iasi, România, E-mail: larisa_med86@yahoo.com