Echocardiographic Evaluation of Diastolic Dysfunction among Menopausal Women: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Heart Failure with Normal Ejection Fraction (HFNEF), also known as Diastolic Heart Failure (DHF), has been well-studied since the past two decades. The signs of HFNEF are signs of heart failure and abnormal ventricular filling pressure with normal systolic function. A Metabolic Syndrome (MS) is a clustering of metabolic risk factors. Cardiovascular disease caused by metabolic syndrome includes vascular and myocardial abnormalities such as diastolic dysfunction and relaxation abnormalities. Aim: To study the assosciation between the timing of menopause and Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction (LVDD) in those with and without MS. Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the period between December 2021 to June 2022 at the Department of Cardiology in A.C.S Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. All female patients that underwent a medical examination were selected for the study. Postmenopausal women without overt heart diseases (such as a history of heart valve disease or myocardial infarction, or a prior LV ejection fraction > 50%) were included. This study included 80 patients grouped into two: those with and without MS. The MS group included 30 subjects divided into two subgroups: those who experienced menopause at or before 50 years of age (early menopause group) and those who experienced menopause at or after 50 years of age (late menopause group). Out of 80, 50 participants were divided into early menopause and late menopause groups among women without MS. This study analyse the evolution of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD), assessed by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), in 80 postmenopausal women with and without MS. Independent t-tests was applied to assess the association between the timing of menopause and LVDD. Results: The mean age was 60±7.3 years in women with MS and 62±8.8 years in women without MS. There were no significant differences in the duration since menopause between the postmenopausal women with and without MS. No significant difference was found between the two groups (early vs. late menopause group) with respect to any diastolic parameter, including Early (E) and Late (A), E/A ratio, and E/e in women with MS. In postmenopausal women without MS, there was a significant difference in diastolic parameters including the A, early diastolic annular velocity (e’), ratio of early diastolic transmitral flow velocity to annular flow velocity was calculated (E/e’) between the two groups (early vs. late menopause group). In comparison to patients with MS, patients without the condition had significantly lower early peak mitral inflow velocity (E, p-value=0.019), early diastolic mitral annulus motion velocity (e’-septal, p-value=0.05), late peak mitral inflow velocity ratio (E/A, p-value=0.07), and LV filling pressure values (E/e, p-value=0.02). Conclusion: Early menopause impacts diastolic function in postmenopausal women and LVDD progression in women without MS. LVDD progression in women with MS was unaffected by early menopause.