Blood Glucose and Its Link to Coronary Artery Disease

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Satoh H, Terada H, Uehara A, et al.: Post-challenge hyperinsulinaemia rather than hyperglycemia is associated with the severity of coronary artery disease in patients without a previous diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Heart 91:731–736, 2005.

What is the problem and what is known about it so far?

Type 2 diabetes is linked to coronary artery disease (disease of the blood vessels in the heart). But little is known about the link between coronary artery disease and pre-diabetes (a condition where the body does not handle blood glucose like it should and it's likely the person will get diabetes).

Why did the researchers do this particular study?

Researchers wanted to study the link between coronary artery disease and blood glucose in people who do not have diabetes.

Who was studied?

The study included 144 patients who already had coronary artery disease at a teaching hospital in Japan. None of the patients had been diagnosed with diabetes.

How was the study done?

Participants had a physical exam, including lab tests and a treadmill test, to measure fitness and heart health. Each person was given specific tests to look for pre-diabetes and diabetes.

What did the researchers find?

Many people with coronary artery disease had pre-diabetes or diabetes.

About 39% had pre-diabetes and 21% had type 2 diabetes. Only 40% of participants had normal blood glucose.

Blood glucose problems were especially serious in patients who had a heart attack or narrowing of the blood vessels in the heart.

What were the limitations of the study?

Researchers did not ask participants about any medications they were taking. Some medications could affect coronary artery disease or blood glucose.

Also, there are several tests that look at blood glucose. Other tests may have led to different diagnoses for some people.

What are the implications of the study?

The link between blood glucose and coronary artery disease needs to be studied more. Testing for problems handling glucose may help improve the care of patients with coronary artery disease. When doctors diagnose a patient with coronary artery disease, they should also test the patient's blood glucose for pre-diabetes and diabetes.