In diabetics, the risk for development of heart failure is increased even after adjusting for coronary artery disease and hypertension. Although the cause of this increased heart failure risk is multifactorial, increasing evidence suggests that dysfunction of myocardial mitochondria represents an important pathogenetic factor. To date, no specific therapy exists to treat mitochondrial function in any cardiac disease. This article presents underlying mechanisms of mitochondrial dysfunction in the diabetic heart and discusses potential therapeutic options that may attenuate these mitochondrial derangements.
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