Treatment of Enlarged Heart Can Decrease Diabetes Risk

Filed in archive Notable , Research on November 5, 2007

We already know that there is some association between diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.




Now, according to a study published in the November issue (sign in required) of Hypertension (a journal of the American Heart Association), high-blood-pressure patients treated for enlarged heart (left ventricular hypertrophy, LVH) who have regression or prevention of LVH may also have a better chance of preventing diabetes.

An estimated 20 percent of all high-blood-pressure patients, or 12 million Americans, have LVH and are at increased risk of developing diabetes.

Such were the findings of a study led by physician-scientists at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Says the study's principal investigator, Dr. Peter Okin, director of clinical affairs and professor of medicine in the Greenberg Division of Cardiology at Weill Cornell Medical College and attending physician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell:

"A healthy heart is a prerequisite for the health of the body as a whole. Our previous research has shown that treating enlarged heart in high-blood-pressure patients reduces the risk for a variety of cardiovascular conditions.

This new study finds an important new benefit-namely a better chance of avoiding diabetes among patients who exhibit a reduction of their hypertrophy during treatment."

Find more details from Weill Cornell Medical Center.