Chester County Medicine Spring 2021 - 9

www.CHESTERCMS.org

The SGLT2i: Teaching Us to
Know Diabetes by Heart
BY MIAN A. JAN, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.S.C.A.I., AND
ANKIT RAINA, AN INTERN AT WEST CHESTER CARDIOLOGY

Introduction

Heart Failure

Treatment and Medications

Approximately 5 million Americans are
currently victims of heart failure, a disease
that impedes the heart's ability to pump
blood.

What is it?

Heart failure requires lifelong
management due to the chronic nature
of the disease. Although there is no
cure, popular treatment options involve
a combination of medications such as
beta blockers, diuretics, and angiotensin
converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.
Despite the availability of these therapies
with established efficacy, mortality among
patients with heart failure remains high.

There are 809,900 hospitalizations due
to heart failure annually and heart failure
is the #1 reason for rehospitalizations
in America. 1 in 8 deaths in America is
associated with heart failure.

Heart failure is a progressive disease
caused by the heart inefficiently pumping
blood. This disease can damage the heart,
cause recurrent hospitalizations of patients,
and possibly result in patient death.

10.5% of the American population,
or 34.2 million Americans, are currently
diagnosed with diabetes, a metabolic
disease that elevates blood sugar.
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and heart
failure commonly coexist, due to their
connected physiologies. The comorbidity
of these two diseases is associated with poor
outcomes for patients. Studies show that
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus not only increases
the risk of heart failure but also accelerates
its occurrence.

Figure 2: The progressive nature of heart
failure causes recurrent hospitalizations

Symptomatology
* Shortness of breath during exertion
* Fatigue and weakness
* Swelling in legs, ankles, and feet
* Rapid or irregular heartbeat

Causes
The heart's job of pumping blood can
be impeded in 2 ways:
Figure 1: The interwoven relationship
between diabetes and heart failure

	

1. Heart muscle damage
(systolic heart failure)

	

2. Heart muscle stiffness
(diastolic heart failure)

Figure 3: Mortality rates of heart failure
patients remain high despite therapeutic
intervention

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
What is it?
Diabetes Mellitus is a disease that
impairs the body's absorption of glucose,
resulting in elevated blood sugar.
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is specifically
characterized by the body becoming
resistant to insulin, a molecule made by the
pancreas that helps usher glucose into the
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SPRING 2021 | CHESTER COUNT Y Medicine 9
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Chester County Medicine Spring 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chester County Medicine Spring 2021
