title: Diabetic cardiomyopathy: mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment.
abstract: Independent of the severity of coronary artery disease, diabetic patients have an increased risk of developing heart failure. This clinical entity has been considered to be a distinct disease process referred to as 'diabetic cardiomyopathy'. Experimental studies suggest that extensive metabolic perturbations may underlie both functional and structural alterations of the diabetic myocardium. Translational studies are, however, limited and only partly explain why diabetic patients are at increased risk of cardiomyopathy and heart failure. Although a range of diagnostic methods may help to characterize alterations in cardiac function in general, none are specific for the alterations in diabetes. Treatment paradigms are very much limited to interpretation and translation from the results of interventions in non-diabetic patients with heart failure. This suggests that there is an urgent need to conduct pathogenetic, diagnostic and therapeutic studies specifically in diabetic patients with cardiomyopathy to better understand the factors which initiate and progress diabetic cardiomyopathy and to develop more effective treatments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Northwick Park Hospital, Watford Road, Harrow HAI 3UJ, UK.
authors.forename: Sajad A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hayat
authors.forename: Billal
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Rajdeep S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Khattar
authors.forename: Rayaz A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Malik
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors