Association of insulin use with LV remodeling and clinical outcomes in diabetic patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction: assessed by cardiac MRI

BACKGROUND: Insulin is commonly used in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to achieve glycemic control. However, recent evidence showed that insulin use is associated with poor outcomes in the context of heart failure (HF). Since heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) accounts for approximately 50% of cases in the general HF population, we aimed to evaluate the effect of insulin treatment on left ventricular (LV) remodeling and contractility abnormalities in a HFrEF cohort and assess whether insulin was a predictor of adverse outcomes in this entity. METHODS: A total of 377 HFrEF patients who underwent cardiac MRI were included and divided according to diabetes status and the need for insulin treatment. LV structural and functional indices, as well as systolic strains, were measured. The determinants of impaired myocardial strains were assessed using linear regression analysis. The associated endpoints were determined using a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: T2DM patients on insulin displayed a higher indexed LV end-diastolic volume and LV mass than those with T2DM not on insulin or those without T2DM, despite similar LV ejection fractions, accompanied by a higher three-dimensional spherical index (P < 0.01). Worse longitudinal and circumferential peak systolic strain was shown to occur in T2DM patients on insulin (P < 0.01). Insulin treatment was independently associated with impaired magnitudes of systolic strain. The median follow-up duration was 32.4 months (IQR, 15.6-43.2 months). Insulin treatment remained consistently associated with poor outcomes after adjustment for established confounders, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 3.11; (95% CI, 1.45-6.87; P = 0.009) in the overall cohort and 2.16 (95% CI, 1.08-4.59; P = 0.030) in the diabetes cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Insulin may further lead to adverse LV remodeling and contractile dysfunction in the context of HFrEF with T2DM. Considerable care should be taken when treating HFrEF patients with insulin.