Abnormal Glucose Tolerance in Prediabetes Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction: Implications for Therapy

Newly discovered abnormal glucose tolerance is common in patients who present with acute myocardial infarction (MI). These individuals are at very high risk for recurrent major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), cardiovascular (CV) mortality, and all-cause mortality compared to normal-glucose-tolerant individuals who present with acute MI. Early and aggressive intervention with lifestyle and pharmacologic treatment are essential for the prevention of prediabetes progression to diabetes and recurrent cardiovascular events in this high risk population. Management, both with regard to prevention of recurrent cardiovascular events and development of diabetes, has been poorly addressed in current cardiology and diabetes guidelines. In this article, we review current evidence regarding the use of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), and pioglitazone to prevent recurrent cardiovascular events and propose areas of research to be explored in the future.