Interdisciplinary assessment and diagnostic algorithm: The role of the cardiologist

Patients with diabetes have an increased risk of developing heart failure and those with heart failure are at higher risk of developing diabetes. In patients with diabetes antidiabetic medications and the metabolic alterations of diabetes increase the risk of developing heart failure.
In diabetic patients with heart failure and in those with an increased likelihood of developing the disease a stepwise approach based on the use of natriuretic peptides and echocardiography to rule out the presence of heart failure should be used. Once the diagnosis of heart failure is established it will be important to define the phenotype according to the left ventricular function and, where appropriate, use additional tests to identify possible additional underlying causes of heart failure like coronary artery disease.
A multidisciplinary heart failure management programs is recommended in all patients with diabetes mellitus and heart failure to enable appropriate investigations, accurate diagnosis, and appropriate agreed evidence-based therapy and care plan. The implementation of a multidisciplinary heart failure management program requires a multidisciplinary team that will have to follow the patients throughout the whole heart failure trajectory and that should consider a holistic approach to the diabetic patient with heart failure rather than focussing merely on either heart failure or diabetes.