Background: Post-challenge hyperglycemia (PH) is well-established as one of risk factors for coronary artery disease. However, it remains unclear whether PH affects clinical outcomes in patients with stable angina undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
Methods: A total of 828 patients with stable angina undergoing PCI were retrospectively analyzed. Of these, 452 patients with previously diagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM) or fasting plasma glucose (PG) ≥126 mg/dl and HbA1c ≥6.5% were defined as known DM. The remaining 376 patients were divided into the two groups according to 2-h PG: PH (2-h PG ≥140 mg/dl, n=236) and normal glucose tolerance (NGT, 2-h PG <140 mg/dl, n=140). We assessed the rate of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), defined as a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and clinically-driven revascularization.
Results: During the median follow-up of 4.3 years, the MACE rate was significantly higher in the DM and PH groups than the NGT group (39.3% vs. 20.7%, P <0.001; 31.4% vs. 20.7%, P=0.044, respectively). Compared with the NGT group, the cumulative incidence of revascularization was significantly higher in the DM group (35.1% vs. 18.5%, P <0.001) and tended to be higher in the PH group (27.1% vs. 18.5%, P=0.067). In the multivariate analysis, known DM (Hazard ratio [HR]: 2.16, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.49-3.27, P < 0.001), PH (HR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.07-2.53, P = 0.023), LDL-C >100 mg/dl (HR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.26 to 2.10, P < 0.001), and previous stroke (HR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.03-2.04, P = 0.034) were predictors of MACE.
Conclusion: PH is associated with future cardiovascular events in patients with stable angina undergoing PCI.