Short Term Outcome of Acute Heart Failure in Diabetic and Non Diabetic Patients

The prevalence of both heart failure (HF) and diabetes has increased over the last decades and is expected to do so in the upcoming decades . Therefore, the presence of diabetes in patients with HF is also likely to increase and this is anticipated to become a major health concern. The actual prevalence of diabetes in patients with acute HF in different registries has varied but may be as high as 45% . Because the structure and function of the heart is directly influenced by the presence of diabetes, diabetes is to be considered to represent more than just a co morbid condition in HF .

Diabetes has been shown to be an independent risk factor for the development of HF . Moreover, this risk has been shown to be age and sex dependent. Compared with patients without diabetes, the presence of diabetes doubles the risk of HF in men, and the risk of developing HF in women may be as much as four times higher . These associations may even be stronger in younger patients. Furthermore, the presence of diabetes has been associated with a longer duration of hospitalization and higher rates of rehospitalization among patients with acute HF. Importantly, in patients with HF, it has been established that the presence of diabetes is not only associated with an increased cardiovascular morbidity but also with an increased mortality