Hyperglycaemia and cardiovascular disease

Coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes are chronic diseases of substantial and growing prevalence. Their coincidence is common, markedly enhancing mortality and morbidity. The risk for cardiovascular disease increases along a spectrum of blood glucose concentrations already apparent at levels regarded as normal. Accordingly, strategies for the early detection of glucometabolic disturbances are needed to find ways to prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular complications or to treat them already at an early stage. More specifically, abnormal glucose tolerance is almost twice as common amongst patients with a myocardial infarction as in population-based controls and a normal glucose regulation is indeed less common than abnormal glucose metabolism also amongst patients with stable coronary artery disease. Already an abnormal glucose tolerance is a strong risk factor for future cardiovascular events after an acute myocardial infarction. An oral glucose tolerance test should, therefore, be a part of the evaluation of total risk in all patients with coronary artery disease. As glucose disturbances are common and easy to detect, they may be suitable targets for novel secondary preventive efforts.