Patients in different stages of diabetic nephropathy (DN) frequently present cardiac disease expressed by myocardial ischemia and/or diabetic cardiomyopathy. These changes are already present at early stages of DN, probably even before urinary albumin excretion (UAE) reaches the traditionally diagnostic levels of microalbuminuria. The cardiac changes are responsible for a significant proportion of the increased death rates in patients with DN and can be reduced through multiple intervention on the several risk factors present in these patients. Cardiac disease assessment should ideally be performed in every patient, irrespective of renal status, through specific methods to detect ischemia and myocardial dysfunction, besides routinely performing 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. In patients with advanced atherosclerosis, other arteries (aorta, carotid, renal) should be evaluated as well. Intensive treatment of arterial hypertension, and use of cardioprotective drugs, correction of the associated dyslipidemia and anemia, and use of antiplatelet agents can reduce the elevated cardiovascular mortality in patients with DN.
Diabetic nephropathy; Cardiovascular disease; Ischemic heart disease; Risk factors; Treatment
