Diabetic cardiomyopathy—What do we know about it?

Abstract

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is defined as the presence of myocardial dysfunction in patients with diabetes in the absence of coronary artery disease, hypertension, or other known cardiac disease. Diabetes has been shown to affect the heart through various cellular mechanisms leading to enhanced myocardial fibrosis, left ventricular hypertrophy, systolic and diastolic dysfunction. With increasing incidence of type II diabetes mellitus, it has continuously rising health and financial implications in both developed and developing countries. Hyperglycaemia seems to be the main deriving force, and careful glycaemic control as well as early administration of neurohormonal antagonists currently remains the mainstay of therapy. Many newer treatment targets are currently being explored. Here we present a brief review of its pathophysiology, association with heart failure symptoms, and management strategies.

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Asrar ul Haq, M. , Mutha, V. , Rudd, N. and Wong, C. (2013) Diabetic cardiomyopathy—What do we know about it?. World Journal of Cardiovascular Diseases, 3, 26-32. doi: 10.4236/wjcd.2013.35A005.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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