Hypoglycemia is associated with a higher risk of mortality and arrhythmias in ST-elevation myocardial infarction, irrespective of diabetes

AIMS: We aimed to assess the impact of hypoglycemia in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). BACKGROUND: Hypoglycemia increases the risk of mortality in patients with diabetes and high cardiovascular risk. METHODS: We used the National Inpatient Sample (2005–2017) database to identify adult patients with STEMI as the primary diagnosis. The secondary diagnosis was hypoglycemia. We compared cardiovascular and socio-economic outcomes between STEMI patients with and without hypoglycemia and assessed temporal trends. RESULTS: Hypoglycemia tends to complicate 0.17% of all cases hospitalized for STEMI. The mean age (±SD) of STEMI patients hospitalized with hypoglycemia decreased from 67 ± 15 in 2005 to 63 ± 12 in 2017 (p = 0.046). Mortality was stable with time, but the prevalence of ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, acute renal failure, cardiogenic shock, total charges, and length of stay (LOS) increased with time (p < 0.05 for all). Compared to non-hypoglycemic patients, those who developed hypoglycemia were older and more likely to be black; only 6.7% had diabetes compared to 28.5% of STEMI patients (p = 0.001). Cardiovascular events were more likely to occur in hypoglycemia: mortality risk increased by almost 2.5-fold (adjusted OR = 2.625 [2.095–3.289]). There was a higher incidence of cardiogenic shock (adjusted OR = 1.718 [1.387–2.127]), atrial fibrillation (adjusted OR = 1.284 [1.025–1.607]), ventricular fibrillation (adjusted OR = 1.799 [1.406–2.301]), and acute renal failure (adjusted OR = 2.355 [1.902–2.917]). Patients who developed hypoglycemia were less likely to have PCI (OR = 0.596 [0.491–0.722]) but more likely to have CABG (OR = 1.792 [1.391–2.308]). They also had a longer in-hospital stay and higher charges/stay. CONCLUSION: Hypoglycemia is a rare event in patients hospitalized with STEMI. However, it was found to have higher odds of mortality, arrhythmias, and other comorbidities, irrespective of diabetes.