Myocardial infarct size and mortality in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
OBJECTIVE
To study the infarct size and mortality in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and in non-diabetic subjects with their first acute myocardial infarction.


METHODS
Seven year follow-up study of large representative cohorts of patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and non-diabetic subjects (study 1) and the FINMONICA acute myocardial infarction register study in 1988-89 (study 2).


METHODS
Populations of the districts of the Kuopio University Hospital and Turku University Central Hospital (study 1). Populations of Kuopio and North Karelia provinces and Turku/Loimaa area (study 2).


METHODS
Study 1: 1059 patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus and 1373 non-diabetic subjects aged 45-64 years at baseline; during the follow-up 166 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (91 men and 75 women) and 30 non-diabetic subjects (25 men and five women) were hospitalized for their first acute myocardial infarction. Study 2: 1622 patients aged 25-64 years hospitalized for their first acute myocardial infarction; 144 patients (90 men and 54 women) had non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and 1153 (890 men and 263 women) were non-diabetic.


METHODS
The infarct size was assessed on the basis of maximum levels of serum cardiac enzymes (studies 1 and 2) and QRS-score (study 1).


RESULTS
No differences were found in maximum levels of serum cardiac enzymes between diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Similarly QRS-score gave no suggestion of a difference in infarct size between diabetic and non-diabetic patients. In both studies mortality before hospital admission was similar in diabetic and non-diabetic patients, but mortality within 28 days from hospital admission was twice as high in diabetic patients as in non-diabetic patients. Cardiac failure was the main cause of death significantly more often in diabetic patients than in non-diabetic patients (study 2).


CONCLUSIONS
Poorer prognosis of acute myocardial infarction in diabetic patients appears not to be explained by a larger infarct size but probably by adverse effects of the diabetic state itself on myocardial function.
Lehto
S
S
Department of Medicine, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland.
Pyörälä
K
K
Miettinen
H
H
Rönnemaa
T
T
Palomäki
P
P
Tuomilehto
J
J
Laakso
M
M
D002423:Cause of Death; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries