One out of every two patients rushed to the hospital with a full-blown heart attack caused by blockage of an artery, referred to as ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) in clinical terms, has been associated with undiagnosed diabetes or pre-diabetes. According to a study published in the Global Heart, among the 3,523 patients from North India who were treated at two leading hospitals in Delhi, i.e., G.B. Pant Hospital and Janakpuri Super Specialty Hospital, only 855 (24%) of them were known to be diabetic.

However, tests conducted to check blood sugar levels at the time of hospitalization revealed that 41% of other patients were either pre-diabetic (28%) or diabetic (13%) but did not know about it. The principal investigator and corresponding author of the study, Dr. Mohit Gupta, stated that timely detection and management of diabetes can help in reducing the risk of heart attack (STEMI). He also added that everyone, aged 18 years and above, should get themselves tested for diabetes periodically to ward off serious complications such as heart attack in the future.

In the study, doctors from the G.B. Pant Hospital found that patients with pre-diabetes (49%), newly-detected diabetes (53%), and established diabetes (48%) experienced higher rates of left ventricular dysfunction after heart attacks in comparison to non-diabetic patients (42%). The study also showed that among patients with established diabetes cases, disease management was not proper as many of the patients had uncontrolled blood sugar levels, resulting in poor outcomes. Overall, the authors concluded that the data highlighted the gaps in dysglycemia (raised blood sugar levels) surveillance and management among high-risk patients in North India.

(Source: https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/diagnostics/pre-diabetes-in-50-heart-attack-patients/93626663)