“UNDIAGNOSED DIABETES MELLITUS IN ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME (ACS) PATIENTS”
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Keywords
Acute Coronary Syndrome; Undiagnosed Diabetes Mellitus; Prediabetes; Cardiovascular Risk Factors; Glycemic Screening
Abstract
Background: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) continues to be the principal cause of sickness and death all over the world. It has been firmly established that diabetes mellitus increases the risk of coronary artery disease, a large number of patients are always unidentified at the time they have an acute cardiac event. Unrecognized diabetes can negatively affect the seriousness, therapeutic approach, and outcome of ACS, especially in regions where healthcare facilities and metabolic screening are scarce.
Objective: Determining how often undiagnosed diabetes mellitus occurs among patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome and assessing the association of this condition with clinical and metabolic characteristics at admission.
Methods: This cross-sectional study at the hospital was carried out over a six-month period from April, 2025 to September, 2025 at the Saidu Group of Teaching Hospital Swat. Participating in the research were 180 patients who were diagnosed with ACS and had no previous history of diabetes. Each patient's demographic and clinical details were noted. On the day of admission and within the first 24 hours, fasting plasma glucose and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were determined. The presence of undiagnosed diabetes was indicated by the fulfillment of the standard diagnostic criteria. Researchers used both descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze the data.
Results: Among the 180 patients with acute coronary syndrome, 62 (34.4%) were first-time diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, and 46 (25.6%) had prediabetes. The majority of acute coronary syndrome cases presented with ST-elevation myocardial infarction, especially in those patients who were not aware of their diabetes condition. Patients with newly identified diabetes showed a much higher occurrence of both hypertension and dyslipidemia as compared to the normoglycemic group.
Conclusion: The majority of ACS patients were found to have undiagnosed diabetes mellitus. It is important to perform a routine glycemic screening once ACS patients are presented for an early diagnosis, and the implementation of effective secondary prevention strategies to improve cardiovascular outcomes.
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Dr Obaidullah
Senior Registrar, Department of Medicine, Timergara Teaching Hospital Dir Lower
Dr Mahwash Mengal
Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, Bolan Medical College Quetta, Balochistan
Dr Abdul Jabbar
Professor, Medicine Department, Saidu Group of Teaching Hospital Swat, KPK
Dr Asma Shaheer
FCPS Postgraduate Resident, General Medicine, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center Karachi
Dr Muhammad Farid
Assistant Professor, Family Medicine, CMH Lahore
Momin Khan
Associate Professor, Medicine Department, Saidu Group of Teaching Hospital Swat, KPK
