Diabetes underdiagnosis of patients with cardiac pathology

Abstract

Diabetes is one of the biggest causes of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. When combined with hypertension, coronary artery disease and dyslipidemia, diabetes can significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular complications, deteriorate the prognosis of the disease and reduce the response to drug therapy. Therefore, glucose level control is extremely important for patients with cardiac diseases.Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is widely used for the diabetes diagnosis, as well as a marker of glycemic control. It is a specific compound of hemoglobin with glucose, which reflects the average concentration of glucose in the blood over erythrocyte period of life (about 120 days). The biggest influence on the content of HbA1c within this time is provided by blood glucose level over the last 30 days, when about half of the HbA1c is formed. Consequently, the possibility of diabetes underdiagnosis can’t be excluded only by relying solely on the results of HbA1c. This, in turn, may lead to faulty hypoglycemic therapy prescription.