Rat Models of Cardiac Insulin Resistance

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the industrialized world. Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Unchecked diabetes can also lead to renal failure, blindness, heart attack, stroke, and amputation. The focus of this chapter will be to review the different mechanisms of insulin resistance (IR)/type 2 diabetes and various animal models used to study cardiac changes during these conditions.