Research Description
People with diabetes are at increased risk of heart failure, a serious medical condition. Recently, it has been noted that other than high blood pressure or high levels of triglyceride, long-term changes in these risk factors could also make someone susceptible to cardiovascular disease. This study will investigate whether such long-term changing in these risk factors common in people with diabetes will increase their risk of developing heart failure. Doctors and scientists can use the results of this study to better understand whether their diabetes patients are at risk of developing heart failure in the future.Research Profile
What area of diabetes research does your project cover? What role will this particular project play in preventing, treating and/or curing diabetes?Previously, we observed that visit-to-visit variability in blood pressure was linked to heart failure, which is known to be 2.5 more likely in persons with type 2 diabetes (T2D). In this project, I will explore whether variability in blood pressure or variability in triglycerides exacerbates risk of heart failure in persons with T2D. This work will be conducted in T2D patients enrolled in both clinical trials and those recorded in a large electronic health record. It has the potential to inform the extent to which variability in cardiovascular risk factors plays a role in heart failure in those with T2D.
If a person with diabetes were to ask you how your project will help them in the future, how would you respond?We know that heart failure is more common in those with T2D—and this burden is increasing every year. Since the work being conducted in this project has the potential to better understand who is at risk of heart failure (due to variation in cardiovascular risk factors), these results can equip physicians to more closely monitor those who are at high risk for developing heart failure.
Why important for you, personally, to become involved in diabetes research? What role will this award play?Because the diabetes epidemic is an increasing burden on society, and because certain forms of heart failure are difficult to treat, I am excited to work on a project that has the potential to inform clinical risk prediction and treatment for these conditions and possibly save lives. This ADA award will increase my understanding of these associations in the setting of T2D.
In what direction do you see the future of diabetes research going?With the advent of electronic health records, multiple wearable devices, and precision medicine, we are moving away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Our research to date, and that proposed in this grant, is likely to provide additional information to suggest that tailoring treatment to specific patients or populations is likely to result in better care. For instance, blood pressure variability appears to be more problematic in those with underlying coronary artery disease or low blood pressure. Combined with new treatment options, translating these kinds of epidemiologic discoveries into the clinic will have major impacts on the way T2D diabetes patients are treated.