ompared to individuals without diabetes mellitus (DM), DM patients have approximately a 2-fold higher risk of short-term mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). 1,2 In the current reperfusion era, over 90% of DM patients survive the early 30-day period; however, these patients are prone to markedly-increased mortality after 6 th months. 3,4 The results of several clinical studies indicate that even people with pre-diabetic conditions, such as impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), have increased risks for cardiovascular disease. 5-8 A recent metaregression analysis reported a continuous relationship between 2h-postchallenge glucose levels and cardiovascular risk below the diabetic threshold, and there is growing epidemiological evidence for the association of postchallenge hyperglycemia and macrovascular complications. [9][10][11][12][13] Recently, the Glucose Tolerance in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction (GAMI) study revealed that abnormal glucose tolerance, determined by the presence of postchallenge hyperglycemia, was common among patients with AMI and is a risk factor for future cardiovascular events. 14,15 However, the impact of newly-diagnosed abnormal glucose tolerance on the long-term prognosis after AMI has not been fully demonstrated. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to determine whether newlydiagnosed abnormal glucose tolerance affects long-term clinical outcomes after AMI relative to AMI patients with normal glucose tolerance or with previously diagnosed DM in the current clinical settings.
Methods
Study PatientsWe enrolled 384 consecutive patients with AMI admitted to the coronary care unit of Kobe General Hospital, Japan, from August 1997 to December 2000. We excluded all individuals who were older than 80 years old, or who had serum creatinine concentrations higher than 2.0 mg/dl or other inhospital major adverse clinical events, including cardiogenic shock and emergency coronary artery bypass grafting. Of the 384 consecutive patients screened, 109 patients were excluded due to in-hospital death (n=34), stroke (n=2), emergency coronary artery bypass surgery (n=22), left ventricular (LV) reconstruction surgery (n=2), non-fatal LV rupture (n=5), recurrent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI; n=3), concomitant disease (n=6, idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, neoplasm, schizophrenia, hypoxic brain damage), chronic renal failure (n=7), age over 80 years old (n=8) and unwillingness to enter the study (n=20). The study protocol was approved by the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research at Kobe General Hospital. Written informed consent was obtained from all individuals. Background Newly-diagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM) and impaired glucose tolerance are common among patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, its significance on long-term clinical outcomes in those patients remains unclear. The present study was designed to determine whether such abnormalities after AMI affect long-term clinical outcomes.
Methods and ResultsTwo-hundred and ...