Coronary Flow Reserve and Glycemic Variability in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Objective Glycemic variability is being increasingly recognized as an early indicator of glucose metabolic disorder and may contribute to the development of diabetic vascular complications, such as coronary microvascular dysfunction. The present study sought to investigate the relationship between coronary microvascular function assessed by intracoronary thermodilution method and glycemic variability on a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS). Methods We prospectively enrolled 40 patients with or without known diabetes mellitus who had epicardial coronary artery disease referred for coronary angiography and were not treated with diabetic medications. Of these, two had a significant stenosis in the left main coronary artery and were therefore excluded from the analyses. In the end, 38 patients were equipped with a CGMS and underwent intracoronary physiological assessments in the unobstructed left anterior descending artery. The mean amplitude of glycemic excursion (MAGE) and standard deviation were calculated from the obtained CGMS data as indicators of glucose variability. Results Coronary flow reserve (CFR) was negatively correlated with MAGE (r=-0.328, p=0.044) and standard deviation (r=-0.339, p=0.037) on CGMS, while the index of microcirculatory resistance showed no such correlation. Multivariable linear regression analyses showed that MAGE on CGMS was significantly associated with CFR after adjusting for age, sex, fractional flow reserve and hemoglobin A1c. Conclusion Higher MAGE on CGMS was associated with reduced CFR in stable patients with coronary artery disease, suggesting a potential effect of glycemic variability on coronary microvascular flow regulation. A further study with a larger sample size needs to be conducted to confirm our findings.