Uncontrolled diabetes resulting in diabetic cardiomyopathy in a young male patient and eventually presenting with a stroke

• Main Authors: Konstantinos Kritikos, Kristina Soitou, Roxani Kapranou, Nikolaos Mavroidis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2014-01-01
• Series: Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
• Subjects: Diabetes; diabetic cardiomyopathy; stroke
• Online Access: http://www.jfmpc.com/article.asp?issn=2249-4863;year=2014;volume=3;issue=4;spage=470;epage=472;aulast=Kritikos
• ISSN: 2249-4863

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCP) is defined as the cardiovascular damage present in diabetes patients, which is characterized by myocardial dilatation and hypertrophy, as well as a decrease in the systolic and diastolic function of the left ventricle, and its presence is independent of the coexistence of ischemic heart disease or hypertension. As in the case of the patient that we present here, DCP may be subclinical for a long time, before the appearance of serious clinical symptoms, signs and complications. DCP is poorly recognized by most physicians. Currently, there is no specific treatment for this pathologic entity. However, proper treatment of diabetes and its metabolic abnormalities in the primary care setting reduces the rates of this serious metabolic complication of diabetes. As this high-risk diabetic population is constantly rising, increasing the awareness of physicians for the serious metabolic complications of diabetes, especially in the primary care setting, will help in taking appropriate and early action towards the prevention of full -blown disease and decreasing disability and mortality.