Metabolic abnormalities are important to mediate the incidence and development of heart disease. For example, any mechanism that facilitates rapid recovery of aerobic metabolism has the potential to limit ischemia-reperfusion injury in the heart. Diabetes especially type 2 diabetes or other metabolic dysfunctions have been recognized to contribute toward the development of heart disease. Cardiac complication is also the top reason leading to death in patients with diabetes. In general, glucose metabolism in the heart accounts for almost 30% of cardiac energy production and the rest of the energy (70%) to maintain cardiac function is generated from fatty acid oxidation. In diabetes or conditions that are associated with insulin resistance (such as obesity), glucose utilization is compromised in the heart, while fatty acid metabolism is upregulated, leading to abnormal lipid uptake and storage and the development of cardiomyopathy, referred to as “lipotoxicity.” In addition, whole-body metabolic dysfunction during diabetes or insulin resistance is associated with hyperlipidemia and hypertension that will also contribute to pathogenesis of coronary heart disease. Thus, the mechanisms in mediating cardiac or whole-body metabolic alterations during diabetes are important for the development of new therapies.

Our current special issue focuses on recruiting studies related to molecular mechanisms of metabolic dysfunction, physiology and pathology of diabetic cardiac complications (including coronary artery diseases), and new development in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetic heart disease.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Ischemia-reperfusion injury in diabetes and challenges of effective intervention
• Cardiac metabolism and insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes
• Oxidative stress-induced alterations in diabetes
• Impact of cardiac metabolic alterations on the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy
• Imaging and diabetic cardiovascular complications