Incidental hyperglycemia and myocardial infarction risk in non-diabetic patients in the emergency department: A retrospective cohort analysis
Abstract
Objective
This study investigated whether incidental hyperglycemia serves as an independent risk factor for myocardial infarction (MI) among non-diabetic patients in the emergency department.
Methods
A retrospective case-control study analyzed data from one thousand non-diabetic patients aged 18–85 years who visited the emergency department during January through October two thousand twenty-four Patients were classified into two equal groups based on their random blood glucose levels: patients with glucose levels above 140 mg/dL formed the hyperglycemia group and patients with glucose levels below 140 mg/dL belonged to the normoglycemia group. The analysis employed logistic regression to assess how hyperglycemia related to MI while controlling for various demographic and clinical variables.
Results
The incidence of MI was found in 61.4% of patients with hyperglycemia but only in 25.8% of patients with normoglycemia. Multivariable analysis revealed that incidental hyperglycemia increased the odds of MI by 2.42 times. The risk was higher among male patients and further increased when glucose levels exceeded 180 mg/dL.
Conclusions
Non-diabetic emergency department patients who experience incidental hyperglycemia show a high risk of developing MI. The evaluation of cardiovascular risk should begin with emergency physicians, who should consider elevated random blood glucose as a potential marker for identifying patients likely to benefit from early assessment and follow-up.
© 2025 Erkan Boğa, published by University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures
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