Heart failure is a common complication of type 2 diabetes and bears a poor prognosis. For patients with diabetes and heart failure the commonly accepted standards for diagnosis and treatment of heart failure are to be applied, although prospective diabetes- specific trials are lacking. The optimum HbA(1c) target value as well as the optimum blood glucoselowering treatment are not known. Due to an absence of prospective randomized trials the treatment should follow general therapeutic principles (low incidence of side effects, combination therapy, patient-friendly dosage, costs).