Type 2 diabetes rewires heart, raises risk of failures, reveals study

Type 2 diabetes quietly changes the heart structure and how it produces energy, thus increasing the risk of heart failure, according to a study.

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Researchers at the University of Sydney, Australia, studied donated human hearts and found that diabetes disrupts how heart cells produce energy, weakens the muscle’s structure, and triggers a buildup of stiff, fibrous tissue that makes it harder for the heart to pump. These effects were most pronounced in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, the leading cause of heart failure.

The findings, published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, can help explain why people living with diabetes face a much higher risk of developing heart failure.