Association between albuminuria and abnormal cardiac findings in patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy: role of urine albumin excretion

Background Diabetic patients have higher morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases compared with nondiabetic patients, particularly in the case of patients with high urinary albumin excretion (UAE). The main aims of our study were to detect abnormal cardiac findings in patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy (DN) and its relation to increased levels of UAE. Patients and methods Our descriptive cross‑sectional study consisted of 105 diabetic patients with documented DN who attended the diabetic outpatient clinic of the Internal Medicine Department, Assiut University Hospital, and underwent routine investigation, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), 24 h UAE, and transthoracic echocardiography. Results We evaluated 105 patients with type 2 DN (56 men and 49 women) who were divided into two groups: group I included those with microalbuminuria (39%) (age: 54.3 ± 14.4 years) and group II included those with macroalbuminuria (61%) (age: 59.7 ± 7.9 years). There was a significant relationship between the degree of albuminuria and occurrence of left ventricular hypertrophy and segmental wall motion abnormality in both groups (P 0.001 and P = 0.032, respectively). Conclusion Our data indicate a possible link between abnormal cardiac findings and progression of DN. We suggest that assessment of cardiac morbidity by means of echocardiography in patients with DN be mandatory for early preventive strategies.