Clinical influence of early follow-up glycosylated hemoglobin levels on cardiovascular outcomes in diabetic patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction after coronary reperfusion

Glucose-lowering therapy and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and acute coronary syndrome

Diabetes is a common comorbidity in patients hospitalized for an acute coronary syndrome event, and prevalence is increasing. Among patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction, diabetes can be an independent predictor of mortality and new cardiovascular events; both short- and long-term outcomes are worse for patients with diabetes relative to those without, and undiagnosed diabetes is associated with greater mortality. The impact of glycemic control on cardiovascular outcomes and the best approach to treat hyperglycemia upon hospital admission for acute coronary syndrome in patients with or without known diabetes remain open questions. This review assesses available evidence for hyperglycemia management at the time of admission for acute coronary syndrome and, thereafter, finds that (1) admission plasma glucose plays a role in predicting adverse events, especially in patients with unknown diabetes; (2) glycated haemoglobin is a likely predictor of events in patients with unknown diabetes; and (3) hypoglycemia at the time of acute myocardial infarction hospital admission is an important predictor for mortality in patients with and without diabetes. Whether glucose-targeted insulin and glucose infusion have advantages over glucose-insulin-potassium infusion remains controversial. Evidence for the effect of novel glucose-lowering agents used at the time of an acute cardiovascular event is limited and requires more dedicated studies.

Prognostic value of glycated hemoglobin among patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Many studies have shown the prognostic significance of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) for overall coronary artery disease (CAD). But less is known about the role that HbA1c played in the prognosis of patients diagnosed with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Results from previous studies were controversial. Therefore, a meta-analysis was conducted to investigate whether admission HbA1c level was a predictor of short- and long-term mortality rates among patients diagnosed with STEMI. Relevant literatures were retrieved from the electronic databases up to March 2016. Reference lists were hand searched to identify eligible studies. Articles were included if they provided sufficient information for the calculation of pooled relative risk (RR) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). Finally, we got 19 prospective studies involving a total of 35,994 STEMI patients to evaluate the associations between HbA1c level and their in-hospital, 30-day and long-term mortality. Among STEMI patients, HbA1c level was not significantly associated with in-hospital mortality (RR 1.20, 95% CI 0.95-1.53, p=0.13). However, elevated HbA1c level was positively associated with risk of 30-day and long-term mortality (for 30-day mortality, RR 1.25, 95% CI 1.03-1.52, p=0.02; for long-term mortality, RR 1.45, 95% CI 1.20-1.76, p<0.01). In conclusion, our findings suggested elevated HbA1c level among STEMI patients was an indicator of 1.25-fold 30-day mortality risk and 1.45-fold long-term mortality risk, respectively. STEMI patients with high HbA1c level should have their chronic glucose dysregulation under intensive control.