NEW DELHI — Type 2 diabetes can quietly alter the structure of the heart and disrupt how it generates energy, significantly increasing the risk of heart failure, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of Sydney examined donated human hearts and found that diabetes interferes with the way heart cells produce energy, weakens the muscle’s structural integrity, and leads to a buildup of stiff, fibrous tissue that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood effectively.
The effects were most severe in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, the leading cause of heart failure.
The findings, published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, help explain why people living with type 2 diabetes face a substantially higher risk of developing heart failure.
“We’ve long seen a correlation between heart disease and type 2 diabetes, but this is the first research to jointly look at diabetes and ischemic heart disease and uncover a unique molecular profile in people with both conditions,” said Dr. Benjamin Hunter of the University of Sydney’s School of Medical Sciences.
“Our findings show that diabetes alters how the heart produces energy, maintains its structure under stress, and contracts to pump blood,” he said. “Using advanced microscopy techniques, we were able to see direct changes to the heart muscle, including a buildup of fibrous tissue.”
To better understand diabetes’ impact on the heart, the research team analyzed heart tissue from transplant recipients as well as from healthy individuals. This allowed them to directly observe how diabetes affects heart biology in humans, rather than relying solely on animal models.
The study concluded that diabetes is more than a co-morbidity alongside heart disease. Instead, it actively accelerates heart failure by disrupting critical biological processes and reshaping heart muscle at a microscopic level.
“The metabolic effect of diabetes in the heart is not fully understood in humans,” Hunter said.
In healthy hearts, energy is primarily generated from fats, with glucose and ketones also contributing. Previous research has shown that glucose use increases during heart failure. However, diabetes interferes with this adaptation by reducing the heart cells’ sensitivity to insulin, further compromising the heart’s ability to meet its energy demands. (Source: IANS)
