title: In-hospital prognosis of patients with fasting hyperglycemia after first myocardial infarction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the incidence and prognostic significance of fasting hyperglycemia in a large group of patients with a first myocardial infarction.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood glucose was measured after an 8-h overnight fast in 752 patients with a first myocardial infarction. Three groups of patients were identified: patients with normal fasting blood glucose (92.5%), patients with fasting hyperglycemia but no prior history of glucose intolerance (3%), and patients previously known to have diabetes mellitus (4.5%).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The fasting hyperglycemic patients were significantly older and had significantly more in-hospital complications than the normal blood glucose group. Previously known diabetic subjects tended to be older and had more mechanical complications postinfarction than the group with normal blood glucose but the difference did not reach statistical significance. There was no significant difference between the diabetic subjects and patients with fasting hyperglycemia in mean age and in-hospital prognosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fasting hyperglycemia detected after a first myocardial infarction is associated with a poor in-hospital prognosis that was not due to larger infarct size, as reflected in peak levels of cardiac enzymes. The measurement of a fasting blood glucose level provides additional information in identifying high-risk groups of patients postinfarction.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Department of Preventive Cardiology, St. Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: O'Sullivan
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Conroy
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hickey
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mulcahy
mesh_terms: D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012044:Regression Analysis
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose