Cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN) remains a stealthy yet serious complication of type 2 diabetes. This study compared the effects of diaphragmatic breathing versus standard deep breathing tests on heart rate variability (HRV) in diabetics and healthy individuals.
The findings suggest that diaphragmatic breathing not only enhances vagal tone in healthy participants but may also serve as a non-invasive tool to detect subclinical autonomic dysfunction in diabetics—something standard tests can miss. With growing interest in non-pharmacological interventions, diaphragmatic breathing offers hope for monitoring and managing early autonomic changes in diabetes.
