Approved research

Prevalence and determinants of subclinical cardiovascular dysfunction in pre-diabetes and diabetes.

Lay summary

The number of people with pre-diabetes and diabetes is rising. One of the major causes of premature death in these people is heart failure. This is when the heart cannot pump blood effectively. It makes people feel tired, breathless and develop swollen limbs and is associated with poor quality of life. It is associated with a high risk of dying. The prevalence and causes of heart failure in diabetes are uncertain. A key process may be increasing stiffening of the arteries of the body, which may stop the heart from filling and pumping as it should. We will undertake a thorough assessment of heart structure and function and arterial stiffening in people with diabetes and pre-diabetes. To do this we will use the heart MRI data, as well as the blood tests, specialised blood pressure machine data and physical activity monitoring and exercise test readings taken from volunteers in the UK BIOBANK Imaging sub-study. We will compare these data from people with diabetes and pre-diabetes to those without diabetes, as a comparison. This study will help determine which factors lead to heart failure in people with diabetes, how frequently they occur, and how we might best detect such abnormalities. This will allow us to develop treatments aimed at preventing or treating heart failure in diabetes.