Sulfonylurea use and myocardial infarct size

The adverse effects of sulfonylureas on macrovascular disease have been known for decades. Now we have this:

Methods

Consecutive STEMI patients admitted in Edmonton, Canada between 2006 and 2011 were enrolled in a regional prospective registry program. Patients with type 2 diabetes were identified from this group and the maximum recorded troponin I (max cTnI) within the first 48 h of chest pain onset was used as the primary outcome to quantify infarct size. The relationship between preadmission sulfonylurea use and max cTnI was assessed using multivariable linear regression to adjust for patient demographics, cardiovascular risk factors, clinical data on admission, ischemia time, reperfusion therapy and preadmission drugs.

Results

There were 560 STEMI patients with type 2 diabetes; mean (standard deviation; SD) age was 63.3 (12.8) years, 395 (70.5%) were male, 216 (38.6%) received primary percutaneous intervention, and 211 (37.7%) received thrombolysis. The max cTnI was higher in 146 sulfonylurea users compared to 414 non-sulfonylurea users (mean (SD): 49.8 (74.3) ng/mL versus 39.9 (50.4) ng/mL, respectively; adjusted between-group difference: 12.9 ng/mL; 95% CI 0.3–25.5; p = 0.044).

Conclusion

This study adds further evidence to the proposed causal relationship between sulfonylureas and adverse cardiovascular events by observing a significant difference in infarct size among type 2 diabetes patients presenting with STEMI. Clinicians should consider this association when prescribing sulfonylureas to manage patients with type 2 diabetes.