Diabetes Care, Vol 21, Issue 4 637-640, Copyright © 1998 by American Diabetes Association
Arrhythmias and mortality after myocardial infarction in diabetic patients. Relationship to diabetes treatment
TM Davis, RW Parsons, RJ Broadhurst, MS Hobbs and K Jamrozik
Department of Medicine, Fremantle Hospital, University of Western Australia, Australia. tdavis@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between clinical course after acute
myocardial infarction (AMI) and diabetes treatment. RESEARCH DESIGN AND
METHODS: Retrospective analysis of data from all patients aged 25-64 years
admitted to hospitals in Perth, Australia, between 1985 and 1993 with AMI
diagnosed according to the International Classification of Diseases (9th
revision) criteria was conducted. Short- (28-day) and long-term survival
and complications in diabetic and nondiabetic patients were compared. For
diabetic patients, 28-day survival, dysrhythmias, heart block, and
pulmonary edema were treated as outcomes, and factors related to each were
assessed using multiple logistic regression. Diabetes treatment was added
to the model to assess its significance. Long-term survival was compared by
means of a Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Of 5,715 patients, 745
(12.9%) were diabetic. Mortality at 28 days was 12.0 and 28.1% for
nondiabetic and diabetic patients, respectively (P < 0.001); there were
no significant drug effects in the diabetic group. Ventricular fibrillation
in diabetic patients taking glibenclamide (11.8%) was similar to that of
nondiabetic patients (11.0%) but was lower than that for those patients
taking either gliclazide (18.0%; 0.1 > P > 0.05) or insulin (22.8%; P
< 0.05). There were no other treatment-related differences in acute
complications. Long-term survival in diabetic patients was reduced in those
taking digitalis and/or diuretics but type of diabetes treatment at
discharge had no significant association with outcome. CONCLUSIONS: These
results do not suggest that ischemic heart disease should influence the
choice of diabetes treatment regimen in general or of sulfonylurea drug in
particular.