Type 2 diabetes mellitus and heart failure share a bidirectional relationship where each condition independently increases the incidence and worsens the prognosis of the other.
This review highlights the bidirectional epidemiological and prognostic relationship between type 2 diabetes and heart failure.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a risk factor that plays a major role in the onset of heart failure (HF) both directly, by impairing cardiac function, and indirectly, through associated diseases such as hypertension, coronary disease, renal dysfunction, obesity, and other metabolic disorders. In a population of HF patients, the presence of T2DM ranged from 20 to 40%, according to the population studied, risk factor characteristics, geographic area, and age, and it is associated with a worse prognosis. Finally, patients with HF, when compared with those without HF, show an increased risk for the onset of T2DM due to several mechanisms that predispose the HF patient to insulin resistance. Despite the epidemiological data confirmed the relationship between T2DM and HF, the exact prevalence of HF in T2DM comes from interventional trials rather than from observational registries aimed to prospectively evaluate the risk of HF occurrence in T2DM population. This review is focused on the vicious cycle linking HF and T2DM, from epidemiological data to prognostic implications.
Palazzuoli et al. (2022) conducted a review in Heart Failure and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Type 2 diabetes mellitus and heart failure share a bidirectional relationship where each condition independently increases the incidence and worsens the prognosis of the other.