Mitral Regurgitation and Increased Risk of All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Background Mitral regurgitation is the most common heart valve disease in the general population, but little is known about the prevalence and prognostic implications of mitral regurgitation in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the data from 814 outpatients with type 2 diabetes who had undergone a conventional echocardiography for clinical reasons during the years 1992-2007. Mitral regurgitation was evaluated by using an integrated multiparametric echocardiographic approach. The study outcomes were all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Results At baseline, 261 (32%) patients had mitral regurgitation (25% mild, 5% moderate, and 2% severe). Over a mean follow-up of 9 years, 120 (14%) patients died, 50 of them from cardiovascular causes. Compared with those without valve disease, patients with mild mitral regurgitation had a 3.3-fold increased risk of all-cause mortality, whereas those with moderate-to-severe mitral regurgitation had a 5.1-fold increased risk of all-cause mortality. Results remained statistically significant after adjustment for multiple potential confounders. Similar results were found for cardiovascular mortality. Conclusions Mitral regurgitation is a common pathologic condition in patients with type 2 diabetes and is independently associated with an increased risk of both all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, even if the severity of mitral regurgitation is mild.