D iabetes is thoroughly evidenced to increase the risk of development of heart failure even in the absence of frequently coexisting comorbidities such as coronary artery disease and hypertension. Cardiac adverse effects influenced by diabetes have been demonstrated thus far for the left ventricle, particularly systolic and diastolic dysfunction identified at rest (1–9) and/or during exercise (1...

For many years cardiologists were not interested in studying right ventricular function and the role of the right ventricle in heart failure and in other disease states has therefore been largely underestimated. More recently a consensus has grown on the critical role of right ventricular function in patients with advanced congestive heart failure. The estimation of right ventricular function i...

Scleroderma is a multi-systemic disease of the connective tissue, characterised by inflammatory alterations, occlusive microvascular lesions, and diverse forms of cutaneous and parenchymatous fibrosis. Although its pathogenesis is unsettled, various immune mechanisms have been implicated. Arthralgias, changes in oesophageal motility, spider veins, pulmonary fibrosis, and pulmonary arterial hype...