Patients with both hypertension and diabetes had significantly greater mean heart weight and microscopic fibrosis compared to those with either condition alone, correlating with collagen levels (p<0.01).
Observational (n=67)
p-value: p=<0.01
The hearts obtained at autopsy of 67 patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, or both were examined microscopically and histochemically, and the amount of fibrosis was determined. Significant differences in heart weight, interstitial fibrosis, replacement fibrosis, and perivascular fibrosis were found among the groups. The mean heart weight of the hypertensive-diabetic patients was significantly greater than that of the hypertensive patients and the diabetic patients. The amount of microscopic fibrosis increased between the groups, the lowest in hypertensive hearts, midrange in diabetic hearts, and highest in hypertensive-diabetic hearts. Total fibrosis correlated with heart weight among diabetic and hypertensive-diabetic patients and was significantly greater among patients with congestive heart failure, most of whom had histories of both hypertension and diabetes. The microscopic grade of fibrosis correlated significantly (p less than 0.01) with a quantitative, histochemical determination of the amount of collagen per milligram of total noncollagenous protein in the heart tissue. Myocardial fibrosis may contribute to the diastolic dysfunction typical of hypertensive-diabetic cardiomyopathy, in which congestive heart failure is a common sequela. The importance of hypertension in the pathogenesis of severe diabetic heart disease is discussed.
Hoeven et al. (Sat,) conducted a observational in Hypertensive and diabetic heart disease (n=67). Hypertension and/or diabetes mellitus vs. Comparison among hypertensive, diabetic, and hypertensive-diabetic groups was evaluated on Heart weight and amount of fibrosis (p=<0.01). Patients with both hypertension and diabetes had significantly greater mean heart weight and microscopic fibrosis compared to those with either condition alone, correlating with collagen levels (p<0.01).