How to best manage glycemia and non-glycemia during the time of acute myocardial infarction

Acute Coronary Syndrome in Patients with Diabetes mellitus: Features of the Course and Manifestations of Pain Syndrome

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains a common cause of hospitalization for patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Due to development of diabetic neuropathy, it is believed that this category of patients is characterized by a high frequency of atypical acute coronary syndrome, but data on this are quite contradictory. The objective: to determine the features of the pain syndrome and its severity in patients with acute coronary syndrome and concomitant diabetes. Materials and methods. The study involved 36 patients with diabetes (22 men and 14 women) aged 44–86 years, hospitalized urgently for ACS. Pain syndrome was assessed at the time of hospitalization and immediately after coronary artery revascularization according to the following criteria: visual analog scale (VAS), Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), clinical data, and biochemical markers. Results. The majority of patients (91.67%) at the time of hospitalization complained of chest pain, the rest were not bothered by any pain. During the survey, patients described pain as «burning» (30.56%), «squeezing» (30.56%), «squeezing» (25.0%), «tingling» (5.56%). There were also complaints of difficulty breathing (13.89%), shortness of breath (11.1%), palpitations (41.67%). The appearance of excessive sweating was noticed by 16.67% of patients. There was no statistically significant difference between the results of pain assessment by VAS and NRS (p>0.1). The average value of glycemia at the time of hospitalization was 8.19±3.45 mmol/l (men – 8.17±3.61 mmol/l, women – 8.28±3.13 mmol/l). Glycemia greater than 10.0 mmol/l was detected in 8 patients, which was 22.22% of all patients. This category of patients was dominated by patients with severe pain (62.5%). Conclusions. In patients with ACS and diabetes, the typical clinical picture of ACS prevailed (91.67% of patients) over the painless form. Prior to revascularization, moderate and severe pain occurred with equal frequency; there is no statistical difference between blood pressure, heart rate and glycemia (p>0.1) in patients with severe and moderate pain. Hyperglycemia (≥10.0 mmol/l) was found in 22.22%, among this category of patients was dominated by patients with severe pain.

Stress hyperglycemia, cardiac glucotoxicity, and critically ill patient outcomes current clinical and pathophysiological evidence

Stress hyperglycemia is a transient increase in blood glucose during acute physiological stress in the absence of glucose homeostasis dysfunction. Its's presence has been described in critically ill patients who are subject to many physiological insults. In this regard, hyperglycemia and impaired glucose tolerance are also frequent in patients who are admitted to the intensive care unit for heart failure and cardiogenic shock. The hyperglycemia observed at the beginning of these cardiac disorders appears to be related to a variety of stress mechanisms. The release of major stress and steroid hormones, catecholamine overload, and glucagon all participate in generating a state of insulin resistance with increased hepatic glucose output and glycogen breakdown. In fact, the observed pathophysiological response, which appears to regulate a stress situation, is harmful because it induces mitochondrial impairment, oxidative stress-related injury to cells, endothelial damage, and dysfunction of several cellular channels. Paradigms are now being challenged by growing evidence of a phenomenon called glucotoxicity, providing an explanation for the benefits of lowering glucose levels with insulin therapy in these patients. In the present review, the authors present the data published on cardiac glucotoxicity and discuss the benefits of lowering plasma glucose to improve heart function and to positively affect the course of critical illness.

Modern approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction

Cardiogenic shock (CS) is the most severe complication of myocardial infarction, manifested by an acute tissue hypoperfusion as a result of impaired contractile function of the heart. CS occupies a leading place in the patterns of mortality in patients with myocardial infarction, despite all the advances in medicine. This review presents a modern classification of CS and a risk assessment score, considers the main aspects of epidemiology and pathophysiology of CS, discusses issues of its diagnosis and treatment.

Effects and mechanisms of glucose-insulin-potassium on post-procedural myocardial injury after percutaneous coronary intervention

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effects and mechanisms of glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) on post-procedural myocardial injury (PMI) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

METHODS

A total of 200 non-diabetic patients with documented coronary heart disease (CHD) were divided into the Group GIK and Group G, with 100 patients in each group. Patients in Group G were given intravenous infusion of glucose solution 2 hours before PCI. As compared, patients in Group GIK were given GIK.

RESULTS

Both post-procedural creatine phosphokinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MB; 62.1 ± 47.8 vs. 48.8 ± 52.6 U/L, P = 0.007) and cTnI (0.68 ± 0.83 vs. 0.19 ± 0.24 ng/mL, P < 0.001) in Group GIK were significantly higher than those in Group G. In Group G, 9.0% and 4.0% of patients had post-procedural increases in CK-MB 1-3 times and > 3 times, which were significantly lower than those in Group GIK (14.0% and 7.0%, respectively; all P values < 0.01); 13.0% and 7.0% of patients had post-procedural increases in cTnI 1-3 times and > 3 times, which were also significantly lower than those in Group GIK (21.0% and 13.0%, respectively; all P < 0.001). Pre-procedural (10.2 ± 4.5 vs. 5.1 ± 6.3, P < 0.001) and post-procedural rapid blood glucose (RBG) levels (8.9 ± 3.9 vs. 5.3 ± 5.6, P < 0.001) in Group G were higher than those in Group GIK. In adjusted logistic models, usage of GIK (compared with glucose solution) remained significantly and independently associated with higher risk of post-procedural increases in both CK-MB and cTnI levels > 3 times. Furthermore, pre-procedural RBG levels < 5.0mmol/L were significantly associated with higher risk of post-procedural increases in both CK-MB and cTnI levels.

CONCLUSIONS

In non-diabetic patients with CHD, the administration of GIK may increase the risk of PMI due to hypoglycemia induced by GIK.

Hyperglycaemia, adverse outcomes and impact of intravenous insulin therapy in patients presenting with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction in a socioeconomically disadvantaged urban setting: The Montefiore STEMI Registry

BACKGROUND

Hyperglycaemia occurs frequently in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and is associated with poor outcomes, for which continuous insulin infusion therapy (CIIT) may be beneficial. Information is limited regarding hyperglycaemia in acute STEMI affecting urban minority populations, or how CIIT fares in such real-world settings.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We assembled an acute STEMI registry at an inner-city health system, focusing on patients with initial blood glucose ≥180 mg/dL to determine the impact of CIIT vs usual care. Clinical and outcomes data were added through linkage to electronic records. Inverse-probability-of-treatment weighting using propensity scores (PS) was used to compare CIIT vs no CIIT. The 1067 patients included were mostly Hispanic or African American; 356 had blood glucose ≥180 mg/dL. Such pronounced hyperglycaemia was related to female sex, minority race-ethnicity and lower socioeconomic score, and associated with increased death and death or CVD readmission. CIIT was preferentially used in patients with marked hyperglycaemia and was associated with in-hospital hypoglycaemia (21% vs 11%, P = .019) and, after PS weighting, with increased in-hospital (RR 3.23, 95% CI 0.94, 11.06) and 1-year (RR 2.26, 95% CI 1.02, 4.98) mortality. No significant differences were observed for death at 30 days or throughout follow-up, or death and readmission at any time point.

CONCLUSIONS

Pronounced hyperglycaemia was common and associated with adverse prognosis in this urban population. CIIT met with selective use and was associated with hypoglycaemia, together with increased mortality at specific time points. Given the burden of metabolic disease, particularly among race-ethnic minorities, assessing the benefits of CIIT is a prerogative that requires evaluation in large-scale randomized trials.

THE INFLUENCE OF GLYCEMIA ON SHORT-TERM PROGNOSIS IN MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION WITHOUT ANAMNESIS OF 2ND TYPE DIABETES

Aim. To estimate the impact of glycemia recorded during myocardial infarction (MI) in-patient care on short-term prognosis of patients without 2nd type diabetes mellitus (2DM).

Material and methods. Totally 296 patients were prospectively investigated. According to glucose levels patients were divided into three groups: 1st with ≤4,0 mM/l (7,4%); 2nd with 4,01–7,79 mM/l (69,9%); 3rd with ≥7,8 mM/l (22,6%). The rate of glucose metabolism disorders and complications during in-hospital care were studied.

Results. In 2/3 of patients with glycemia ≥7,8 mM/l at hospitalization, later the changes of glucose metabolism were found by glucosetolerance test: prediabetes (36,9%), 2DM (32,3%). In the patients of 3rd group significantly higher was the rate of 3-vessel disease (41,8%) anf MI complications: congestive left-ventricular failure — 52,2% vs 27,3% in the 1st group and 34,1% in the second (p=0,017), cardiogenic shock — 26,9% vs 4,5% and 6,8% (p<0,001), conduction disorders — 27,3% vs 9,1% and 11,7% (p=0,006), in-hospital mortality — 13,8% vs 4,5% and 4,4% (p=0,025). The risk of death in subjects with glycemia ≥7,8 mM/l was 3,48 (95% CI: 1,41–8,60) times higher than in normoglycemic (p=0,007). The glycemia was independently linked with complications of MI during in-hospital period: OR = 1,128; 95% CI: 1,005–1,266 (p=0,042), — as also with the age, severity of myocardial damage and systolic pressure at admittance.

Conclusion. There was higher prevalence of MI complications and 3 times higher risk of death in patients without 2DM, but having ≥7,8 mM/l glucose (22,6% of patients) at admittance. The glycemia parameter was an independent predictor for unfavorable prognosis of MI without previous 2DM diagnosis and should be used as part of secondary prevention care.

Cardiovascular disease and oral agent glucose-lowering therapies in the management of type 2 diabetes

Although glucose-lowering oral agents have been available for clinical use for over 60 years, the formal evidence base supporting their advantage and safety in regard of cardiovascular (CV) outcomes remains less than optimal. However, a synthesis of the evidence results in a high probability of benefit. For metformin, the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) substudy is convincing for a definite effect in reducing myocardial infarction (MI), but the quantitative extent of that is uncertain. For sulfonylureas, support for reduction in MI comes from the UKPDS extension study, where the central estimate for risk reduction remains the same as in the original planned end to the study, but the greater number of events was statistically significant for the sulfonylurea/insulin arm. Other studies do not support the view that metformin and sulfonylureas differ with respect to MI or indeed CV outcomes more generally. The data available for acarbose, an α-glucosidase inhibitor, are weak but not of concern, although some positive substudy data are available for people with impaired glucose tolerance. For peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ agonists the CV data are more controversial, but the purpose-designed randomized controlled trials are clear that pioglitazone is advantageous to placebo (except for heart failure [HF]), whereas rosiglitazone is indistinguishable from metformin/sulfonylureas (even when including HF data). Lower-quality data do, however, lead to significant concerns for MI with rosiglitazone. Early and somewhat low-quality data for the dipeptidyl peptidase inhibitors show they are safe and hold promise for cardiovascular advantage, with major randomized controlled trials being underway. Preliminary CV data are available for one sodium/glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor and look reassuring.