Contemporary management of heart failure in patients with diabetes

Both heart failure and diabetes are increasing in prevalence in Western communities. The interrelationship between these two conditions is well known, with conventional heart failure therapies including several newer drug classes providing benefit to subjects with diabetes. Furthermore, several of the more recently introduced medications for type 2 diabetes have resulted in significant cardiovascular morbidity and mortality benefits with a marked improvement in heart failure symptoms and hospital presentations as well as deaths. This review outlines current therapies used to treat patients with or at risk for heart failure and their particular role in subjects with diabetes. Newer therapies, including certain glucose-lowering medications and their benefits in treating heart failure patients with and without diabetes, are also discussed. Finally, heart failure is also observed in long-duration, aging patients with type 1 diabetes, but this clinical issue has not been as extensively explored as in patients with type 2 diabetes and warrants further clinical investigation.