When it comes to heart health, blood sugar matters, even for people who don’t have diabetes.
A new study published in Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome shows that patients with bigger swings in blood glucose levels at the time of a heart attack were more likely to suffer severe damage to the heart muscle.
Researchers in São Paulo tracked 244 patients after their first heart attack. They calculated a measure called glycemic delta, which is the difference between the blood sugar level measured at hospital admission and the person’s average blood sugar over the previous months (estimated from an HbA1c test). A higher delta meant a larger jump from typical blood sugar.
When patients returned for MRI scans 30 days later, those with the highest glycemic delta had larger areas of damaged heart tissue and weaker heart contractions. This was true whether or not the patient had diabetes.
“Through a simple, inexpensive test that almost all patients do, which is glycated hemoglobin for hospital admission, we end up with an easy-to-obtain biomarker with important implications,” said study co-author Francisco Antonio Fonseca of UNIFESP. “Patients with a higher delta will have greater infarct mass and will need myocardial protection.”
Heart attacks remain the leading cause of death in Brazil, with an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 cases annually. The researchers say their findings could help doctors identify high-risk patients earlier and tailor treatment to protect the heart. Future studies will explore the biological mechanisms involved and whether interventions to stabilize glucose can improve outcomes.
This study was supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation and an investigator-initiated grant from AstraZeneca.