Left ventricular hypertrophy predicts the decline of glomerular filtration rate in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Purpose The heart and kidney are of utmost importance for the maintenance of cardiovascular (CV) homeostasis. The relationship between cardiac remodeling, especially the left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and renal damage reflected by the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), decline in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients is unclear. And it is also unknown whether cardiac remodeling can be used to assess the eGFR decline in T2DM patients. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the relationship between cardiac remodeling especially the LVH and the eGFR decline for 265 patients with T2DM, who were diagnosed between 2011 and 2015 and followed for ≥ 3 months. The parameters of cardiac remodeling were determined using Doppler echocardiography. Results In the Cox regression model, the parameters of cardiac remodeling were associated with the composite endpoint in different models. These associations were independent of age, body mass index (BMI), history of hypertension, duration of diabetes, the baseline eGFR, 24-h urinary protein, or using angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and (or) angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB). The risk of composite endpoint in patients with T2DM was higher (hazard ratio, 10.832; p < 0.001 for trend) in the group with the highest number of abnormal echocardiographic parameters, than in the group with no abnormal echocardiographic parameters. In receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analyses, the parameter of left ventricular posterior wall (LVPW) thickness was superior to the other parameters of cardiac remodeling as represented by the higher area under the curve (AUC) values generated according to the sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion Echocardiographic parameters are strongly correlated with the eGFR decline in patients with T2DM. Moreover, the severity of cardiac remodeling, especially the LVH is closely associated with the eGFR decline in patients with T2DM. Therefore, the recognition of cardiac structural alterations in patients with T2DM may evaluate renal damage at an early stage.