Imaging Myocardial Structure, Function, and Scar in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Background—We report relationships between cardiovascular disease risk factors and myocardial structure, function, and scar in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (DCCT/EDIC) study. Methods and Results—Cardiac magnetic resonance was obtained in 1017 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Gadolinium cardiac magnetic resonance was also obtained in 741 patients. The mean age was 49 7 years; 52% were men; and mean duration of diabetes mellitus was 28 5 years. Associations of cardiovascular disease risk factors with cardiac magnetic resonance parameters were examined with linear and logistic regression models. History of macroalbuminuria was positively associated with left ventricular mass (by 14.8 g), leading to a significantly higher ratio of left ventricular mass to end-diastolic volume (by 8%). Mean hemoglobin A1c levels over the preceding 22 years were inversely associated with end-diastolic volume ( 3.0 mL per unit mean hemoglobin A1c percent) and stroke volume ( 2.3 mL per unit mean hemoglobin A1c percent) and positively related to the ratio of elevated left ventricular mass to end-diastolic volume (0.02 g/mL per unit). The overall prevalence of myocardial scar was 4.3% by cardiac magnetic resonance and 1.4% by clinical adjudication of myocardial infarction. Both mean hemoglobin A1c (odds ratio, 1.5 [95% confidence interval, 1.0–2.2] per unit) and macroalbuminuria (odds ratio, 3.5 [95% confidence interval, 1.2–9.9]) were significantly associated with myocardial scar and traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors. Conclusions—In addition to traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors, elevated mean hemoglobin A1c and macroalbuminuria were significantly associated with alterations in left ventricular structure and function. The prevalence of myocardial scar was 4.3% in this subcohort of DCCT/EDIC participants with relatively preserved renal function. Clinical Trial Registration—URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifiers: NCT00360893 and NCT00360815. (Circulation. 2011;124:1737-1746.)