Prevalence and characteristics of impaired glucose metabolism in patients referred to comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation: the DANSUK study

Provision of dietary education in UK-based cardiac rehabilitation: a cross-sectional survey conducted in conjunction with the British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation

Dietary education is a core component of cardiac rehabilitation (CR). It is unknown how or what dietary education is delivered across the UK. We aimed to characterise practitioners who deliver dietary education in UK CR and determine the format and content of the education sessions. A fifty-four-item survey was approved by the British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (BACPR) committee and circulated between July and October 2021 via two emails to the BACPR mailing list and on social media. Practitioners providing dietary education within CR programmes were eligible to respond. Survey questions encompassed: practitioner job title and qualifications, resources, and the format, content and individual tailoring of diet education. Forty-nine different centres responded. Nurses (65·1 %) and dietitians (55·3 %) frequently provided dietary education. Practitioners had no nutrition-related qualifications in 46·9 % of services. Most services used credible resources to support their education, and 24·5 % used BACPR core competencies. CR programmes were mostly community based (40·8 %), lasting 8 weeks (range: 2-25) and included two (range: 1-7) diet sessions. Dietary history was assessed at the start (79·6 %) and followed up (83·7 %) by most centres; barriers to completing assessment were insufficient time, staffing or other priorities. Services mainly focused on the Mediterranean diet while topics such as malnutrition and protein intake were lower priority topics. Service improvement should focus on increasing qualifications of practitioners, standardisation of dietary assessment and improvement in protein and malnutrition screening and assessment.

In-hospital peak glycemia and prognosis in STEMI patients without earlier known diabetes

BACKGROUND

Acute myocardial infarction is known as an acute metabolic stress, but clinicians currently have limited guidance regarding the evaluation and management of hyperglycemia after revascularization.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We assessed the prognostic role of three different ranges of in-hospital peak glycemia (<140, 140-180, and >180 mg/dl) in 252 acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients without earlier known diabetes submitted to percutaneous coronary intervention consecutively admitted to our intensive cardiac care unit (ICCU). Patients with highest peak glycemia showed the highest intra-ICCU mortality (7/44, 15.9%), which was significantly higher with respect to the other two subgroups (P=0.001 and 0.034, respectively). At backward stepwise logistic regression analysis, peak glycemia (odds ratio: 3.14; 95% confidence interval: 1.01-9.74, P=0.047) was an independent predictor of intra-ICCU mortality.

CONCLUSION

In acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients without earlier known diabetes submitted to mechanical revascularization, the poorer in-hospital glucose control was associated with higher mortality; peak glycemia greater than 180 mg/dl was associated with the highest mortality, whereas patients with peak glycemia comprised between 140 and 180 mg/dl exhibited intermediate mortality rates. According to our data during hospitalization intensivists should achieve glucose control values less than 140 mg/dl, as peak glycemia resulted in the independent predictor of intra-ICCU mortality.

Use of intensified comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation to improve risk factor control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus or impaired glucose tolerance--the randomized DANish StUdy of impaired glucose metabolism in the settings of cardiac rehabilitation (DANSUK) study

BACKGROUND

The DANish StUdy of impaired glucose metabolism in the settings of cardiac rehabilitation (DANSUK) examined the effect of an intensified multifactorial intervention on risk factor profile in 104 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) attending hospital-based outpatient comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation (CCR) compared to usual care (UC).

METHODS

Patients with ischemic heart disease (67%), congestive heart failure (7%), or at least 3 risk factors for ischemic heart disease (26%) discharged from 1 coronary care unit were referred to CCR. Of 473 eligible individuals, 201 agreed to participate in the study, and 52% had T2DM or IGT. Patients randomized to CCR received a stepwise implementation of behavioral modification and pharmacotherapy.

RESULTS

After 1 year, patients with T2DM in the CCR group experienced a mean change in HbA1c of -0.65% +/- 0.9% compared with a mean change of -0.08% +/- 0.7% in the UC group (P < .05). Mean change in systolic and diastolic blood pressures was -8 +/- 15 and -5 +/- 9 mm Hg in the CCR group compared with a mean change of -0.8 +/- 15 and -0.2 +/- 7 mm Hg in the UC group (P < .05). Patients with IGT attending CCR obtained a significantly higher exercise capacity compared with patients in the UC group (P < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

In a group of patients with impaired glucose metabolism attending CCR, an intensified multifactorial intervention with an integrated diabetes module was more efficient in improving risk factor control than UC. Besides the improvement in the exercise capacity of patients with IGT, in patients with T2DM, both HbA1c and blood pressure were lowered to a level that has been shown to reduce both cardiac and diabetic complications. These findings have important implications for patients with impaired glucose metabolism in the future settings of CCR.