Vascular inflammation can be detected in the pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) attenuation. Treatment with liraglutide is associated with anti-inflammatory effects and reduces cardiovascular risk in diabetic patients. This study is aimed at examining the effect of clinically indicated liraglutide on PCAT attenuation. Asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and without known ischemic heart disease underwent clinical examination, blood analysis, and CCTA. The main coronary arteries were outlined and PCAT attenuation was measured on the proximal 40 mm. Patients treated with liraglutide on a clinical indication were compared to patients not receiving liraglutide. The study included 190 patients; 53 (28%) received liraglutide (Lira+) and 137 (72%) did not (Lira-). There were no significant differences in PCAT attenuation between the two groups in either artery. However, PCAT attenuation measured around the left anterior descending artery (LAD) was lower in the Lira+ group after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, and T2DM duration ( b coefficient -2.4, p = 0.029 ). In a population of cardiac asymptomatic T2DM patients, treatment with clinically indicated liraglutide was not associated with differences in PCAT attenuation compared to nonliraglutide treatment in the unadjusted model. An association was seen in the adjusted model for the left anterior descending artery, possibly indicating an anti-inflammatory effect.

Background In the ESC guidelines for chronic heart failure an electrocardiogram (ECG) is part of the diagnostic set-up (1). A normal ECG makes the diagnosis unlikely. But can a normal ECG exclude heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF) and be a gatekeeper to echocardiography? Methods Patients referred from primary care to the cardiac outpatient clinic with suspicion of heart failure were consecutively included in the study, during a period of one year. With the referral from primary care was included an ECG which was assessed by a senior cardiologist and divided into two groups: 1) Patients with normal ECG; 2) Patients with pathologically ECG. Subsequently, an echocardiographic examination was performed in a blinded fashion and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was measured. Results Overall, 403 patients were included in the study. A normal ECG was present in 155 (38%) patients and a pathological ECG was present in 248 (62%) patients. In total, an echocardiographic examination identified 55 (14%) patients with an LVEF below 60% and 33 patients (8%) with LVEF below 50%. In patients with a normal ECG, only two patients had heart failure with a mildly reduced ejection fraction (41–49%), Figure 1. Thus, the ECG had a sensitivity of 94% and a negative predictive value of 99%, Figure 2. Conclusion A normal electrocardiogram has a high diagnostic sensitivity and negative predictive value for excluding heart failure with reduced LVEF and could be a gatekeeping tool in the prioritization of patients referred to echocardiography examination from primary care. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Private hospital(s). Main funding source(s): Department of Cardiovascular research, OUH, Svendborg Hospital

We investigated whether prediabetes diagnosed by hemoglobinA1c (HbA1c) or oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) could predict presence and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in symptomatic patients. The presence of plaque, stenosis, plaque characteristics, and coronary artery calcium (CAC) were evaluated by coronary CT angiography in 702 patients with suspicion of CAD. Patients were classified by glycemic status using the American Diabetes Association criteria for HbA1c and OGTT, and compared to their respective normal ranges. Prediabetes was observed in 24% by HbA1c and 72% by OGTT. Both prediabetes classifications were associated with increased presence of plaque, stenosis, calcified plaques, CAC >400, and a lower frequency of zero CAC compared to their respective normal range (all, p < 0.05). After adjusting for potential confounders, patients with HbA1c-prediabetes had an odds ratio of 2.1 (95% CI: 1.3–3.5) for CAC >400 and 1.5 (95% CI: 1.0–2.4) for plaque presence, while none of the associations for OGTT-prediabetes were significant. The receiver operating characteristic-curve for HbA1c-prediabetes showed an area under the curve of 0.81 for CAC >400 and 0.77 for plaque presence. Prediabetes defined by HbA1c predicts presence and severity of CAD. Although OGTT identified more patients with prediabetes, their risk of CAD were not explained by prediabetes using these diagnostic-criteria.