My 76 year old grandmother, who has had diabetes for as long as I can remember, is in congestive heart failure now. She is not in the hospital or anything, and all the family is telling me is that it is the final stages of diabetes. Is this true and what does it mean for her? She has lost her eyesight and has not been doing well for a while now, but this is the latest problem she is having. I am very worried about this since I live a good distance away.

I would recommend that you get more information to help you understand what is going on. It is true that individuals with diabetes have a higher frequency of heart failure. There are several pathways to developing heart failure. A common route would be to have a heart attack. It has been found that patients with type�2 diabetes, especially women, have a higher frequency of heart failure after heart attack. They can also develop heart failure through a process known as diabetic cardiomyopathy. The implication is that small blood vessels within the heart become diseased and the pump function deteriorates. Heart failure can be chronic, rapidly deteriorating, or anything in between. You need to learn more about the situation to know which course your grandmother may be taking.

JTL