[Silent coronary artery disease in diabetic patients. New guidelines]

Abstract

More than half of diabetic individuals will die from a coronary event. Coronary artery disease often presents an atypical form among diabetic subjects. Silent myocardial ischaemia may be detected in 20 to 35% of diabetic patients with associated cardiovascular risk factors. When a coronarography is performed in patients with silent myocardial ischaemia, it demonstrates significant coronary stenosis in one to two thirds of patients. The prognosis of diabetic patients with silent myocardial ischaemia is associated with a higher incidence of cardiac events in the next three years, especially when silent ischaemia is associated with angiographically coronary stenosis. French guidelines jointly published in 2004 by the ALFEDIAM and the French Society of Cardiology propose the search for silent myocardial ischaemia--in diabetic patients with peripheral arteriopathy or overt nephropathy with proteinuria,--in diabetic patients with microalbuminuria and two other classical cardiovascular risk factors,--in a sedentary diabetic patient who wants to begin a physical activity,--in type I diabetic patients above 45 years or with a disease lasting for more than 15 years and in type 2 diabetic patients above 60 years or with a known disease lasting for more than 10 years, when at least two other traditional cardiovascular risk factors are present. Besides the standard annual electrocardiogram, these high risk patients should benefit first from an exercise test or when the latter is impossible, under-maximal or doubtful, from a myocardial scintigraphy combined with dipyridamole injection or from a stress echocardiography. The demonstration of a silent myocardial ischaemia should lead to a coronarography when the general status of the patient and the absence of severe comorbidities allow considering a coronary revascularisation procedure in these diabetic patients.