Test Detects Heart Disease Early

An ultrasound test could detect the early warning signs of heart disease for diabetic patients, who are more prone to develop heart problems, according to the results of a study published recently in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. For the study, the researchers used a tissue Doppler imaging ultrasound to look at the hearts of 41 patients with diabetes and 41 healthy participants. At the time of the study, none of the diabetic patients showed signs or symptoms of heart disease. The ultrasound revealed that the diabetics? hearts did not beat as strongly, or relax as well between beats, compared with nondiabetic individuals. Because the difference was subtle, it would have been missed with a standard ultrasound of the heart.