Admission blood glucose and 10-year mortality among patients with or without pre-existing diabetes mellitus hospitalized with heart failure

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The association between the stress hyperglycaemia ratio and mortality in cardiovascular disease: a meta-analysis and systematic review

BACKGROUND

A raised stress hyperglycaemia ratio (SHR) has been associated with all-cause mortality and may better discriminate than an absolute glucose value. The aim of this meta analysis and systematic review is to synthesise the evidence assessing the relationship between the SHR and all-cause mortality across three common cardiovascular presentations.

METHODS

We undertook a comprehensive search of Medline, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL and Web of Science from the date of inception to 1st March 2024, and selected articles meeting the following criteria: studies of patients hospitalised for acute myocardial infarction, ischaemic stroke or acute heart failure reporting the risk (odds ratio or hazard ratio) for all-cause mortality associated with the SHR. A random effects model was used for primary analysis. Subgroup analysis by diabetes status and of mortality in the short and long term was undertaken. Risk of bias assessment was performed using the Newcastle Ottawa quality assessment scale.

RESULTS

A total of 32 studies were included: 26 studies provided 31 estimates for the meta-analysis. The total study population in the meta analysis was 80,010. Six further studies were included in the systematic review. Participants admitted to hospital with cardiovascular disease and an SHR in the highest category had a significantly higher risk ratio of all-cause mortality in both the short and longer term compared with those with a lower SHR (RR = 1.67 [95% CI 1.46-1.91], p < 0.001). This finding was driven by studies in the myocardial infarction (RR = 1.75 [95% CI 1.52-2.01]), and ischaemic stroke cohorts (RR = 1.78 [95% CI 1.26-2.50]). The relationship was present amongst those with and without diabetes (diabetes: RR 1.49 [95% CI 1.14-1.94], p < 0.001, no diabetes: RR 1.85 [95% CI 1.49-2.30], p < 0.001) with p = 0.21 for subgroup differences, and amongst studies that reported mortality as a single outcome (RR of 1.51 ([95% CI 1.29-1.77]; p < 0.001) and those that reported mortality as part of a composite outcome (RR 2.02 [95% CI 1.58-2.59]; p < 0.001). On subgroup analysis by length of follow up, higher SHR values were associated with increased risk of mortality at 90 day, 1 year and > 1year follow up, with risk ratios of 1.84 ([95% CI 1.32-2.56], p < 0.001), 1.69 ([95% CI 1.32-2.16], p < 0.001) and 1.58 ([95% CI 1.34-1.86], p < 0.001) respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

A raised SHR is associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality following myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke. Further work is required to define reference values for the SHR, and to investigate the potential effects of relative hypoglycaemia. Interventional trials targeting to the SHR rather than the absolute glucose value should be undertaken.

PROSPERO DATABASE REGISTRATION

CRD 42023456421 https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42023456421.

Glucose levels at hospital admission are associated with 5 year mortality

AIM

We aimed to determine if hospital admission hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia are associated with increased long-term mortality.

METHODS

A post-hoc analysis of data from a trial of glucose screening in the emergency department was conducted. Data were linked with a death registry up to 5 years after admission. The relationship between admission glucose and mortality was examined by cox regression. Further analyses of people who survived the admission and subsequent 28 days was performed.

RESULTS

There were 131,322 patients, of whom 38,712 (29.5 %) died. Mean follow-up was 3·3 ± 1·5 years. Compared to the reference glucose band of 6·1-8·0 mmol/L, there was increased mortality in higher bands, reaching a hazard ratio (HR) of 1·44 (95 %CI 1·34-1·55, p < 0·001) for people with glucose > 20·0 mmol/L. The HR was 1·56 (95 %CI 1·46-1·68, p < 0·001) for people with glucose ≤ 4·0 mmol/L. Similar relationships were observed among 28-day survivors. The relationships were attenuated among people with known diabetes. Among 4867 subjects with glucose ≥ 14·0 mmol/L, those diagnosed with diabetes during the admission had lower mortality compared to subjects where the diagnosis was not made (HR 0·53, 95 %CI 0·40-0·72, p < 0·001). This was attenuated among 28-day survivors.

CONCLUSION

Hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia on hospital admission are associated with increased long-term mortality.

Pathophysiology and Advances in the Therapy of Cardiomyopathy in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is known as the first non-communicable global epidemic. It is estimated that 537 million people have DM, but the condition has been properly diagnosed in less than half of these patients. Despite numerous preventive measures, the number of DM cases is steadily increasing. The state of chronic hyperglycaemia in the body leads to numerous complications, including diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). A number of pathophysiological mechanisms are behind the development and progression of cardiomyopathy, including increased oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, increased synthesis of advanced glycation products and overexpression of the biosynthetic pathway of certain compounds, such as hexosamine. There is extensive research on the treatment of DCM, and there are a number of therapies that can stop the development of this complication. Among the compounds used to treat DCM are antiglycaemic drugs, hypoglycaemic drugs and drugs used to treat myocardial failure. An important element in combating DCM that should be kept in mind is a healthy lifestyle-a well-balanced diet and physical activity. There is also a group of compounds-including coenzyme Q10, antioxidants and modulators of signalling pathways and inflammatory processes, among others-that are being researched continuously, and their introduction into routine therapies is likely to result in greater control and more effective treatment of DM in the future. This paper summarises the latest recommendations for lifestyle and pharmacological treatment of cardiomyopathy in patients with DM.

Stress hyperglycemia ratio as a prognostic indicator for long-term adverse outcomes in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

BACKGROUND

Recent studies highlighted that stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) is a potential predictor for future risk in heart failure (HF) patients. However, its implications specifically in HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) are not yet fully elucidated. We aimed to investigate the association between SHR and long-term clinical outcomes in HFpEF patients.

METHODS

HFpEF patients enrolled between 2015 and 2023, were followed (mean 41 months) for a composite outcome of all-cause, cardiovascular mortality, and HF rehospitalization. SHR was established as the ratio of acute-chronic glycemia from admission blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin. The optimal cut-off for SHR to predict outcomes based on event prediction was determined through ROC analysis, and the cutoff was identified at 0.99. The effect of SHR on adverse risk was examined through the Cox hazards and Kaplan-Meier survival methods. A Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between SHR and the severity of HF, as indicated by N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels. Furthermore, the incremental prognostic value of SHR was further assessed by the integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) and the net reclassification improvement (NRI).

RESULTS

Among the 400 enrolled patients, 190 individuals (47.5%) encountered composite events over the 41-month follow-up period. SHR was significantly elevated in patients with events compared with those without (p < 0.001). All patients were stratified into high SHR (n = 124) and low SHR (n = 276) groups based on the SHR cutoff. The high SHR group had a significantly higher incidence of adverse events than the low SHR group (log-rank; p < 0.001). Additional analysis indicated a poorer prognosis in patients with low left ventricular EF (LVEF) levels (50 < LVEF < 60) and high SHR (SHR > 0.99) in comparison to the other groups (log-rank p < 0.001). In adjusted analysis, after accounting for age, sex, diabetes, and NT-proBNP, elevated SHR remained independently predictive of adverse outcomes (adjusted HR: 2.34, 95% CI 1.49-3.67; p < 0.001). Furthermore, adding SHR to a model with MAGGIC score provided an incremental improvement in predicting adverse events. Additionally, SHR displayed a slight correlation with NT-proBNP.

CONCLUSION

Elevated SHR was independently associated with an increased risk for composite events of all-cause, cardiovascular mortality, and HF readmission than those with lower SHR. SHR is a valuable tool for predicting and stratifying long-term adverse risks among HFpEF patients.

Low stress hyperglycemia ratio predicts worse prognosis in diabetic acute heart failure patients

INTRODUCTION

Acute blood glucose but not glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) predicts poor outcome in acute heart failure (HF). The stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) has been proposed as a prognostic predictor in various clinical settings.

OBJECTIVES

We assessed the prognostic implications of the SHR in acute HF patients with and without diabetes.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective analysis of an acute HF registry conducted between 2009 and 2010. Estimated average glucose (eAG) was calculated as (28.7×HbA1c)-46.7 and SHR as acute blood glucose divided by eAG. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. Follow-up was three months. Patients were grouped by SHR tertiles (≤0.88, 0.89-1.16, and >1.16). Cox regression analysis was used to test the association of SHR (cut-off 0.88) with all-cause mortality. Analysis was stratified according to the presence of diabetes. Multivariate models were built accounting for acute blood glucose and for eAG (models 1 and 2, respectively).

RESULTS

We studied 599 patients, mean age 76±12 years, of whom 62.1% had reduced ejection fraction and 50.9% had diabetes. Median acute blood glucose, eAG and SHR were 136 (107-182) mg/dl, 131 (117-151) mg/dl, and 1.02 (0.20-3.34), respectively. During follow-up 102 (17.0%) died. In patients with diabetes, those in the lowest SHR tertile had a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.24 (95% CI: 1.05-5.22) (model 1) and 2.34 (1.25-4.38) (model 2). In patients without diabetes, the HR of three-month death in the lowest SHR tertile was 0.71 (95% CI: 0.36-1.39) and 1.02 (0.58-1.81). Significant interaction was observed between diabetes and SHR.

CONCLUSIONS

In HF patients with diabetes, a SHR ≤0.88 was associated with a more than twofold higher three-month mortality risk. No such association was found in non-diabetic patients. The presence of diabetes influences the association of the SHR with mortality.

Baseline conditions and nutritional state upon hospitalization are the greatest risks for mortality for cardiovascular diseases and for several classes of diseases: a retrospective study

The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate risk factors for 3-years mortality after hospital discharge in all inpatients admitted to a general hospital in Milano, Italy. A total of 2580 consecutive patients admitted to Ospedale San Paolo, July 1 to December 31, 2012, for several classes of diseases (internal medicine, cancer, infectious diseases, trauma and surgery, pneumonia, and heart diseases) were studied. Age, total disease, type of admission, length of admission, age-adjusted Charlson index, prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and full blood count were evaluated. Univariate Cox models were used to evaluate the association between variables and death. Of the 2580 consecutive patients (age 66.8 ± 19.36 years, mean ± SD), 920 died within 3 years after discharge. At univariate analysis, all investigated variables, except sex and lymphocytes, were associated with patient death. Stepwise regression analyses revealed that the age-adjusted Charlson index or age plus total diseases, type of admission, number of admissions, and PNI were significant risk factors in the whole sample and in some classes of disease. Results were superimposable when considering death from date of admission instead of date of discharge, meaning that in-hospital death was not relevant to the total death count (115 out of 902). Seriousness of baseline conditions represents the major risk factor for mortality in most classes of disease, and possibly influences other predictors, such as type of admission and length of stay. This suggests that the current model of hospital admission might be improved, for instance, through comprehensive care at home, instead of hospital admission, or before admission.

Fasting blood glucose-to-glycated hemoglobin ratio and all-cause mortality among Chinese in-hospital patients with acute stroke: a 12-month follow-up study

BACKGROUND

Stroke is a leading cause of death and functional impairment in older people. To assess the prospective association between fasting blood glucose-to-glycated hemoglobin ratio and all-cause mortality and poor prognosis in stroke patients.

METHODS

A total of 971 Chinese inpatients with acute stroke (mean age of 65.7) were consecutively enrolled in the prospective clinical study and followed up for 12 months after discharge. Stress hyperglycemia was measured using the ratio of fasting blood glucose (FBG, mmol/L)/glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c, %). The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, and secondary outcomes were poor prognosis defined as infectious complications, a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score ≥ 6, a Barthel Index score ≤ 60, or a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 3-6, presented as multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) across the quartiles of the FBG/HbA1c ratio.

RESULTS

There were 35 (4.1%) all-cause deaths at 3 months and 85 (11.4%) at 12 months. The inpatients with the highest quartile of the FBG/HbA1c ratio had a higher risk of all-cause death at 3 months (adjusted OR: 5.16, 95% CI: 1.03-25.74) and at 12 months (adjusted OR: 2.59, 95% CI: 1.14-5.89)) and a higher risk of infectious complications (adjusted OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.27-4.43) and dysfunction (adjusted OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.06-3.01) during hospitalization than inpatients with the lowest quartile.

CONCLUSIONS

Stress hyperglycemia, measured by the FBG/HbA1c ratio, was associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes, including all-cause death, infectious complications, and dysfunction after stroke.

Cardiac Structure and Function and Diabetes-Related Risk of Death or Heart Failure in Older Adults

Background Whether cardiac structure and function abnormalities associated with dysglycemia are sufficient to explain the increased risk of death or heart failure (HF) remains unclear. Methods and Results We analyzed 6059 participants (mean age, 75±5 years; 58% women; and 22% Black individuals) who attended the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) study visit 5 examination (2011-2013). Participants were categorized as no diabetes, pre-diabetes, and diabetes (on the basis of medical history and glycated hemoglobin values). We assessed whether diabetes modified the association between echocardiographic measures of cardiac structure and function and the composite of all-cause death or HF hospitalization and then estimated the extent to which the increased risk of the composite outcome associated with diabetes was explained by cardiac structure and function. Diabetes was prevalent in 33.5% of the subjects. Death or HF occurred in 1111 (18%) at a rate of 3.6 per 100 person-years. Both measures of cardiac structure and function and diabetes status were significantly associated with worse prognosis after accounting for clinical confounders. While diabetes was consistently associated with a higher risk of events, it did not significantly modify the association between cardiac abnormalities and the risk of death or HF, except for subjects with higher left atrial volume who showed higher relative risk of events (P for interaction <0.001). Measures of cardiac structure and function accounted for ≈16% of the increased risk of death or HF associated with diabetes. Similar results were observed analyzing subjects without prevalent heart disease. Conclusions In a biracial cohort of older adults, the increased risk of events associated with diabetes was partially explained by cardiac structure and function abnormalities.

An insight into the mechanisms of COVID-19, SARS-CoV2 infection severity concerning β-cell survival and cardiovascular conditions in diabetic patients

A significantly high percentage of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) had severe conditions and were admitted to ICU. In this review, we have delineated the plausible molecular mechanisms that could explain why there are increased clinical complications in patients with DM that become critically ill when infected with SARS-CoV2. RNA viruses have been classically implicated in manifestation of new onset diabetes. SARS-CoV2 infection through cytokine storm leads to elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines creating an imbalance in the functioning of T helper cells affecting multiple organs. Inflammation and Th1/Th2 cell imbalance along with Th17 have been associated with DM, which can exacerbate SARS-CoV2 infection severity. ACE-2-Ang-(1-7)-Mas axis positively modulates β-cell and cardiac tissue function and survival. However, ACE-2 receptors dock SARS-CoV2, which internalize and deplete ACE-2 and activate Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) pathway. This induces inflammation promoting insulin resistance that has positive effect on RAS pathway, causes β-cell dysfunction, promotes inflammation and increases the risk of cardiovascular complications. Further, hyperglycemic state could upregulate ACE-2 receptors for viral infection thereby increasing the severity of the diabetic condition. SARS-CoV2 infection in diabetic patients with heart conditions are linked to worse outcomes. SARS-CoV2 can directly affect cardiac tissue or inflammatory response during diabetic condition and worsen the underlying heart conditions.

Prognostic Value of the Acute-to-Chronic Glycemic Ratio at Admission in Heart Failure: A Prospective Study

Acute hyperglycemia has been associated with worse prognosis in patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF). Nevertheless, studies evaluating the impact of glycemic control on long-term prognosis have shown conflicting results. Our aim was to assess the relationship between acute-to-chronic (A/C) glycemic ratio and 4-year mortality in a cohort of subjects hospitalized for acute HF. A total of 1062 subjects were consecutively included. We measured glycaemia at admission and estimated average chronic glucose levels and the A/C glycemic ratio were calculated. Subjects were stratified into groups according to the A/C glycemic ratio tertiles. The primary endpoint was 4-year mortality. Subjects with diabetes had higher risk for mortality compared to those without (HR 1.35 [95% CI: 1.10–1.65]; p = 0.004). A U-shape curve association was found between glucose at admission and mortality, with a HR of 1.60 [95% CI: 1.22–2.11]; p = 0.001, and a HR of 1.29 [95% CI: 0.97–1.70]; p = 0.078 for the first and the third tertile, respectively, in subjects with diabetes. Additionally, the A/C glycemic ratio was negatively associated with mortality (HR 0.76 [95% CI: 0.58–0.99]; p = 0.046 and HR 0.68 [95% CI: 0.52–0.89]; p = 0.005 for the second and third tertile, respectively). In multivariable analysis, the A/C glycemic ratio remained an independent predictor. In conclusion, in subjects hospitalized for acute HF, the A/C glycemic ratio is significantly associated with mortality, improving the ability to predict mortality compared with glucose levels at admission or average chronic glucose concentrations, especially in subjects with diabetes.

Heart failure in diabetes

Heart failure and cardiovascular disorders represent the leading cause of death in diabetic patients. Here we present a systematic review of the main mechanisms underlying the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy. We also provide an excursus on the relative contribution of cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial and smooth muscle cells to the pathophysiology of heart failure in diabetes. After having described the preclinical tools currently available to dissect the mechanisms of this complex disease, we conclude with a section on the most recent updates of the literature on clinical management.

Sex-specific impact of diabetes mellitus on left ventricular systolic function and prognosis in heart failure

We aimed to investigate the sex differences in associations of diabetes mellitus (DM) with echocardiographic phenotypes and clinical outcomes of heart failure (HF). We studied 4,180 patients admitted for acute HF between 2009 and 2016 (median follow-up, 31.7 months) whose left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) data were available. Patients were compared by sex and DM. Structural equation model (SEM) analysis was performed to evaluate the moderating effects of two causal paths, via ischemic heart disease (IHD) and LV-GLS, linking DM with mortality. Compared to non-diabetic women, diabetic women had significantly lower LV-GLS (11.3% versus 10.1%, p < 0.001), but the difference was attenuated within men (9.7% versus 9.2%, p = 0.014) (p-for-interaction by sex = 0.018). In Cox analyses, DM was an independent predictor for higher mortality in both sexes (women: adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15–1.59 versus men: HR 1.24, 95% CI 1.07–1.44, p-for-interaction by sex = 0.699). Restricted cubic spline curves showed that LV-GLS consistently declined, and mortality increased in women with worsening hyperglycemia, but these trends were not evident in men. In SEM analysis, the main driver from DM to mortality differed by sex; men had a stronger effect via IHD than LV-GLS, whereas LV-GLS was the only predominant path in women.

Predictors of hospital discharge and mortality in patients with diabetes and COVID-19: updated results from the nationwide CORONADO study

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

This is an update of the results from the previous report of the CORONADO (Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and Diabetes Outcomes) study, which aims to describe the outcomes and prognostic factors in patients with diabetes hospitalised for coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).

METHODS

The CORONADO initiative is a French nationwide multicentre study of patients with diabetes hospitalised for COVID-19 with a 28-day follow-up. The patients were screened after hospital admission from 10 March to 10 April 2020. We mainly focused on hospital discharge and death within 28 days.

RESULTS

We included 2796 participants: 63.7% men, mean age 69.7 ± 13.2 years, median BMI (25th-75th percentile) 28.4 (25.0-32.4) kg/m². Microvascular and macrovascular diabetic complications were found in 44.2% and 38.6% of participants, respectively. Within 28 days, 1404 (50.2%; 95% CI 48.3%, 52.1%) were discharged from hospital with a median duration of hospital stay of 9 (5-14) days, while 577 participants died (20.6%; 95% CI 19.2%, 22.2%). In multivariable models, younger age, routine metformin therapy and longer symptom duration on admission were positively associated with discharge. History of microvascular complications, anticoagulant routine therapy, dyspnoea on admission, and higher aspartate aminotransferase, white cell count and C-reactive protein levels were associated with a reduced chance of discharge. Factors associated with death within 28 days mirrored those associated with discharge, and also included routine treatment by insulin and statin as deleterious factors.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION

In patients with diabetes hospitalised for COVID-19, we established prognostic factors for hospital discharge and death that could help clinicians in this pandemic period.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT04324736.

Diabetes changes gene expression but not DNA methylation in cardiac cells

BACKGROUND

Diabetes mellitus is a worldwide epidemic that causes high mortality due to cardiovascular complications, in particular heart failure. Diabetes is associated with profound pathophysiological changes in the heart. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of diabetes on gene expression and DNA methylation in cardiac cells.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Transcriptome analysis of heart tissue from mice with streptozotocin-induced diabetes revealed only 39 genes regulated, whereas cell type-specific analysis of the diabetic heart was more sensitive and more specific than heart tissue analysis and revealed a total of 3205 differentially regulated genes in five cell types. Whole genome DNA methylation analysis with basepair resolution of distinct cardiac cell types identified highly specific DNA methylation signatures of genic and regulatory regions. Interestingly, despite marked changes in gene expression, DNA methylation remained stable in streptozotocin-induced diabetes. Integrated analysis of cell type-specific gene expression enabled us to assign the particular contribution of single cell types to the pathophysiology of the diabetic heart. Finally, analysis of gene regulation revealed ligand-receptor pairs as potential mediators of heterocellular interaction in the diabetic heart, with fibroblasts and monocytes showing the highest degree of interaction.

CONCLUSION

In summary, cell type-specific analysis reveals differentially regulated gene programs that are associated with distinct biological processes in diabetes. Interestingly, despite these changes in gene expression, cell type-specific DNA methylation signatures of genic and regulatory regions remain stable in diabetes. Analysis of heterocellular interactions in the diabetic heart suggest that the interplay between fibroblasts and monocytes is of pivotal importance.

Role of AMP-activated protein kinase on cardio-metabolic abnormalities in the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy: A molecular landscape

Cardiovascular complications associated with diabetes mellitus remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality across the world. Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a descriptive pathology that in absence of co-morbidities such as hypertension, dyslipidemia initially characterized by cardiac stiffness, myocardial fibrosis, ventricular hypertrophy, and remodeling. These abnormalities further contribute to diastolic dysfunctions followed by systolic dysfunctions and eventually results in clinical heart failure (HF). The clinical outcomes associated with HF are considerably worse in patients with diabetes. The complexity of the pathogenesis and clinical features of diabetic cardiomyopathy raises serious questions in developing a therapeutic strategy to manage cardio-metabolic abnormalities. Despite extensive research in the past decade the compelling approaches to manage and treat diabetic cardiomyopathy are limited. AMP-Activated Protein Kinase (AMPK), a serine-threonine kinase, often referred to as cellular "metabolic master switch". During the development and progression of diabetic cardiomyopathy, a plethora of evidence demonstrate the beneficial role of AMPK on cardio-metabolic abnormalities including altered substrate utilization, impaired cardiac insulin metabolic signaling, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress, myocardial inflammation, increased accumulation of advanced glycation end-products, impaired cardiac calcium handling, maladaptive activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, endoplasmic reticulum stress, myocardial fibrosis, ventricular hypertrophy, cardiac apoptosis, and impaired autophagy. Therefore, in this review, we have summarized the findings from pre-clinical and clinical studies and provided a collective overview of the pathophysiological mechanism and the regulatory role of AMPK on cardio-metabolic abnormalities during the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Heart failure with insulin degludec versus glargine U100 in patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk of cardiovascular disease: DEVOTE 14

Background

Heart failure (HF) is a common cardiovascular complication of type 2 diabetes (T2D). This secondary analysis investigated baseline factors and treatment differences associated with risk of hospitalization for HF (hHF), and the possible association between severe hypoglycemia and hHF.

Methods

DEVOTE was a treat-to-target, double-blind cardiovascular outcomes trial in patients (n = 7637) with T2D and high cardiovascular risk randomized to insulin degludec (degludec) or insulin glargine 100 units/mL (glargine U100). The main endpoint of this secondary analysis was time to first hHF (standardized MedDRA Query definition). Severe hypoglycemia was adjudicated (American Diabetes Association definition). The main endpoint and the temporal association between severe hypoglycemia and hHF were analyzed with a Cox proportional hazards regression model. Predictors of time to first hHF were identified using baseline variables.

Results

Overall, 372 (4.9%) patients experienced hHF (550 events). There was no significant difference in the risk of hHF between treatments (hazard ratio [HR] 0.88 [0.72;1.08]_{95% CI}, p = 0.227). Prior HF (HR 4.89 [3.90;6.14]_{95% CI}, p ≤ 0.0001) was the strongest predictor of future hHF events. The risk of hHF significantly increased after (HR 2.2), and within a week after (HR 11.1), experiencing a severe hypoglycemic episode compared with before an episode.

Conclusions

In patients with T2D and high cardiovascular risk there were no treatment differences in terms of hHF. Prior HF was the strongest predictor of future hHF events, and there was an association between severe hypoglycemia and subsequent hHF. Further research should evaluate whether the risk of hHF can be modified by treatments aimed at reducing hypoglycemia.

Trial Registration NCT01959529

Biomarkers in diagnosing and treatment of acute heart failure

Acute heart failure (AHF) is a complex disorder involving different pathophysiological pathways. In recent years, there is an increased focus on biomarkers that help with diagnosis, risk stratification and disease monitoring of AHF. Finding a reliable set of biomarkers not only improves morbidity and mortality but it can also potentially reveal the new targets of therapy. In this paper, we have reviewed the biomarkers found useful for the diagnosis as well as for risk stratification and prognostication in patients with AHF. We have discussed the established biomarkers for AHF including cardiac troponins and natriuretic peptides and emerging biomarkers including adiponectin, mi-RNA, sST2, Gal-3, MR-proADM, OPG, CT-proAVP and H-FABP for the purposes of making diagnosis, their use as a guide of therapy or for determination of prognosis.

Diabetic Cardiomyopathy: An Update of Mechanisms Contributing to This Clinical Entity

Heart failure and related morbidity and mortality are increasing at an alarming rate, in large part, because of increases in aging, obesity, and diabetes mellitus. The clinical outcomes associated with heart failure are considerably worse for patients with diabetes mellitus than for those without diabetes mellitus. In people with diabetes mellitus, the presence of myocardial dysfunction in the absence of overt clinical coronary artery disease, valvular disease, and other conventional cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension and dyslipidemia, has led to the descriptive terminology, diabetic cardiomyopathy. The prevalence of diabetic cardiomyopathy is increasing in parallel with the increase in diabetes mellitus. Diabetic cardiomyopathy is initially characterized by myocardial fibrosis, dysfunctional remodeling, and associated diastolic dysfunction, later by systolic dysfunction, and eventually by clinical heart failure. Impaired cardiac insulin metabolic signaling, mitochondrial dysfunction, increases in oxidative stress, reduced nitric oxide bioavailability, elevations in advanced glycation end products and collagen-based cardiomyocyte and extracellular matrix stiffness, impaired mitochondrial and cardiomyocyte calcium handling, inflammation, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system activation, cardiac autonomic neuropathy, endoplasmic reticulum stress, microvascular dysfunction, and a myriad of cardiac metabolic abnormalities have all been implicated in the development and progression of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Molecular mechanisms linked to the underlying pathophysiological changes include abnormalities in AMP-activated protein kinase, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, O-linked N-acetylglucosamine, protein kinase C, microRNA, and exosome pathways. The aim of this review is to provide a contemporary view of these instigators of diabetic cardiomyopathy, as well as mechanistically based strategies for the prevention and treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Heart failure and the prognostic impact and incidence of new-onset of diabetes mellitus: a nationwide cohort study

Background

Prevalent diabetes at the time of heart failure (HF) diagnosis is associated with a higher risk of death, but the incidence and prognostic importance of new-onset diabetes in patients with established HF remains unknown.

Methods

Patients with a first hospitalization for HF in the period 2003–2014 were included and stratified according to history of diabetes. Annual incidence rates of new-onset diabetes were calculated and time-dependent multivariable Cox regression models were used to compare the risk of death in patients with prevalent and new-onset diabetes with patients without diabetes as reference. The model was adjusted for age, sex, duration of HF, educational level and comorbidity. Covariates were continuously updated throughout follow-up.

Results

A total of 104,522 HF patients were included in the study, of which 21,216 (19%) patients had diabetes at baseline, and 8164 (10%) developed new-onset diabetes during a mean follow-up of 3.9 years. Patients with new-onset diabetes and prevalent diabetes were slightly younger than patients without diabetes (70 vs. 74 and 77, respectively), more likely to be men (62% vs. 60% and 54%), and had more comorbidities expect for ischemic heart disease, hypertension and chronic kidney disease which were more prevalent among patients with prevalent diabetes. Incidence rates of new-onset diabetes increased from around 2 per 100 person-years in the first years following HF hospitalization up to 3 per 100 person-years after 5 years of follow-up. A total of 61,424 (59%) patients died during the study period with event rates per 100 person-years of 21.5 for new-onset diabetes, 17.9 for prevalent diabetes and 13.9 for patients without diabetes. Compared to patients without diabetes, new-onset diabetes was associated with a higher risk of death (adjusted HR 1.47; 95% CI 1.42–1.52) and prevalent diabetes was associated with an intermediate risk (HR 1.19; 95% CI, 1.16–1.21).

Conclusion

Following the first HF hospitalization, the incidence of new-onset diabetes was around 2% per year, rising to 3% after 5 years of follow-up. New-onset diabetes was associated with an increased risk of death, compared to HF patients with prevalent diabetes (intermediate risk) and HF patients without diabetes.

Improved outcome of patients with diabetes mellitus with good glycemic control in the cardiac intensive care unit: a retrospective study

Background

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a prevalent metabolic disease characterized by chronic hyperglycemia. A primary burden of DM is related to its long-term complications, which have been shown to impact the course of hospitalization and to influence patients’ outcome.

Aim

To assess the role of in-hospital glucose control on length of stay, 30-days and 1-year mortality.

Methods

This is a retrospective study that included patients admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) of the Edith Wolfson Medical Centre between 01 January, 2010 and 31 December 2013. Blood glucose was measured by glucometer and fed into an interactive database. Glucose status was referred to as controlled when more than 50% of a given patients glucose values were between 71 and 200 mg/dL. Chisquared tests were used to assess the distribution of categorical variables, while the ttest was applied for continuous variables. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between glucose control and mortality. Cox regression was conducted to assess survival and 1-year mortality.

Results

2466 patients were admitted to the CICU over the study period, of which 370 had concomitant diabetes mellitus. Controlled glucose status was associated with shorter length of hospital stay (1.6 ± 1.7 versus 2.6 ± 3.0, p < 0.001), reduced 30-day mortality (0.7% versus 4.6%, p < 0.001), and improved 1-year mortality (2.2% versus 7.5%, p < 0.001). Moreover, attainment of glucose control was independently associated with a significant decrease in 1-year mortality (OR = 0.371, 95% CI 0.140–0.988, p = 0.047).

Conclusion

In-hospital control of glucose parameters is associated with shorter length of hospital stay, and lowered 30-day and 1-year mortality. An effort to maintain glucose levels within reference ranges is warranted in critically ill patients to reduce mortality.

Impact of type 2 diabetes mellitus on short- and long-term mortality after coronary artery bypass surgery

Background

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a frequent co-morbidity among patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of DM on the early- and long-term outcomes of patients who underwent isolated CABG.

Methods

We performed an observational cohort study in a large tertiary medical center over a period of 11 years. All data from patients who had undergone isolated CABG surgery between 2004 and 2014 were obtained from our departmental database. The study population included 2766 patients who were divided into two groups: Group I (1553 non-diabetic patients), and Group II (1213 patients suffering from type 2 DM). Group II patients were then divided into two subgroups: subgroup IIA (981 patients treated with oral antihyperglycemic medications) and subgroup IIB (232 insulin-treated patients with or without additional oral antihyperglycemic drugs). In-hospital, 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year mortality outcome variables were evaluated. Mean follow-up was 97 ± 41 months.

Results

In-hospital mortality was similar between Group I and Group II patients (1.87% vs. 2.31%, p = 0.422) and between the subgroups IIA and IIB (2.14% vs. 3.02%, p = 0.464). Long-term mortality (1, 3, 5 and 10 years) was higher in Group II (DM type 2) compared with Group I (non-diabetic patients) (5.3% vs. 3.6%, p = 0.038; 9.3% vs. 5.6%, p < 0.001; 15.3% vs. 9.3%, p < 0.001 and 47.3% vs. 29.6% p < 0.001). Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated that all-cause mortality was higher in Group II compared with Group I (p < 0.001) and in subgroup IIB compared with subgroup IIA (p = 0.001). Multivariable analysis showed that DM increased the mortality hazard by twofold, and among diabetic patients, insulin treatment increased the mortality hazard by twofold.

Conclusions

Diabetic and non-diabetic patients have similar in-hospital mortality rates. Survival rates of diabetic patients start to deteriorate 3 year after surgery. Type 2 DM is an independent predictor for long-term mortality after isolated CABG surgery. Mortality is even higher when the diabetes treatment strategy included insulin.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12933-018-0796-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Diabetes-related cardiomyopathy: The sweet story of glucose overload from epidemiology to cellular pathways

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major risk factor for heart failure (HF). Although the number of cases of myocardial infarction in the T2D population has been reduced by 25% over the last 10 years, the incidence of HF is continuously increasing, making it the most worrying diabetes complication. This strongly reinforces the urgent need for innovative therapeutic interventions to prevent cardiac dysfunction in T2D patients. To this end, epidemiological, imaging and animal studies have aimed to highlight the mechanisms involved in the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Epidemiological observations clearly show that hyperglycaemia correlates with severity of cardiac dysfunction and mortality in T2D patients. Both animal and cellular studies have demonstrated that, in the context of diabetes, the heart loses its ability to utilize glucose, therefore leading to glucose overload in cardiomyocytes that, in turn, promotes oxidative stress, accumulation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) and chronic activation of the hexosamine pathway. These have all been found to activate apoptosis and to alter heart contractility, calcium signalling and mitochondrial function. Although, in the past, tight glycaemic control has failed to improve cardiac function in T2D patients, recent clinical trials have reported cardiovascular benefit with hypoglycaemic antidiabetic drugs of the SGLT2-inhibitor family. This review, based on clinical evidence from mechanistic studies as well as several large clinical trials, covers 15 years of research, and strongly supports the idea that hyperglycaemia and glucose overload play a central role in the pathophysiology of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

The effect of change in fasting glucose on the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and all-cause mortality: a nationwide cohort study

Background

The effect of change in blood glucose levels on the risk of cardiovascular disease among individuals without diabetes is currently unclear. We aimed to examine the association of change in fasting serum glucose with incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality among representative large population.

Methods

We analyzed the data from retrospective cohort of Korean National Health Insurance Service. In total, 260,487 Korean adults aged over 40 years, without diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease at baseline measured change in fasting serum glucose according to the criteria of impaired and diabetic fasting glucose status: normal fasting glucose (NFG, fasting glucose: < 100 mg/dL), impaired fasting glucose (IFG, fasting glucose: 100.0–125.9 mg/dL), and diabetic fasting glucose (DFG, fasting glucose: ≥ 126.0 mg/dL). Compared to the persistently unchanged group (i.e. NFG to NFG or IFG to IFG), Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed in the changed group to obtain the hazards ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for the subsequent median 8-year myocardial infarction, stroke, and all-cause mortality.

Results

Compared to individuals with persistent NFG (i.e., NFG to NFG), individuals who shifted from NFG to DFG had an increased risk of stroke (HR [95% CI]: 1.19 [1.02–1.38]) and individuals who shifted from NFG to IFG or DFG had increased risks of all-cause mortality (HR [95% CI]: 1.08 [1.02–1.14] for NFG to IFG and 1.56 [1.39–1.75] for NFG to DFG). Compared to individuals with persistent IFG, individuals who shifted from IFG to DFG had an increased risk of MI and all-cause mortality (HR [95% CI]: 1.65 [1.20–2.27] and 1.16 [1.02–1.33], respectively).

Conclusions

Increasing fasting glucose in non-diabetic population is associated with risks of the MI, stroke, and all-cause mortality, which is more rapid, more severe.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12933-018-0694-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.