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The incidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is increasing globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries, despite significant efforts to reduce traditional risk factors. Premature subclinical atherosclerosis has been documented in association with several viral infections. The magnitude of the recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to understand the association between SARS-CoV-2 and atherosclerosis. This review examines various pathophysiological mechanisms, including endothelial dysfunction, platelet activation, and inflammatory and immune hyperactivation triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection, with specific attention on their roles in initiating and promoting the progression of atherosclerotic lesions. Additionally, it addresses the various pathogenic mechanisms by which COVID-19 in the post-acute phase may contribute to the development of vascular disease. Understanding the overlap of these syndromes may enable novel therapeutic strategies. We further explore the need for guidelines for closer follow-up for the often-overlooked evidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease among patients with recent COVID-19, particularly those with cardiometabolic risk factors.
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The American Heart Association (AHA) has devised Life's Essential 8, a set of eight evidence-based health behaviors that play a crucial role in optimizing cardiovascular health and overall well-being. In addition to Life's Essential 8, enhanced screening for Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) Syndrome risk factors into routine athlete screening also provides a more comprehensive approach for ensuring athlete safety and long-term health. Incorporating Life's Essential 8 and CKM Syndrome metrics into athlete health evaluations will improve the sports performance of athletes and help optimize their long-term health.
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Heart failure (HF) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in the United States that carries substantial healthcare costs. Multiple risk prediction models and strategies have been developed over the past 30 years with the aim of identifying those at high risk of developing HF and of implementing preventive therapies effectively. This review highlights recent developments in HF risk prediction tools including emerging risk factors, innovative risk prediction models, and novel screening strategies from artificial intelligence to biomarkers. These developments allow more accurate prediction, but their impact on clinical outcomes remains to be investigated. Implementation of these risk models in clinical practice is a considerable challenge, but HF risk prediction tools offer a promising opportunity to improve outcomes while maintaining value.
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Objective: Elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is an independent, genetically determined risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). We evaluated the frequency of testing for elevated Lp(a) and subsequent management at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, a large academic medical center, over a 5-year period. Methods: The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) electronic medical record was queried to identify patients with an encounter between 2017 and 2021, either with established ASCVD or at increased risk, defined as being on any lipid lowering medication or having LDL-C ≥ 190 mg/dL. The frequency of Lp(a) testing and of elevated levels were identified for each year. Results: Among 111,350 unique adult patients, 2,785 (2.5â¯%) had at least one Lp(a) test. Patients with Lp(a) testing, compared to those without testing, were younger (mean age 56 years vs. 66 years), more often female (49â¯% vs. 44â¯%), Black (24.7â¯% vs. 24.6â¯%) or "other" race/ethnicity (12â¯% vs 10â¯%), and had higher LDL-C levels (median 118 vs. 91 mg/dL; p < 0.001). The number and frequency of Lp(a) testing increased from 167 (0.57â¯%) in 2017 to 1155 (5.67â¯%) in 2021. Lp(a) levels were abnormal in 43.4â¯% of patients (moderate [75-125 nmol/L]: 10.3â¯%, high [126-600 nmol/L]: 32.2â¯%, severe [>600 nmol/L]: 0.9â¯%). Among 920 patients with high or severe Lp(a) levels, 200 (22â¯%) had a subsequent referral to cardiology or lipid specialist, and 180 (20â¯%) had a new lipid-lowering medication prescribed in the subsequent 18 months. Conclusion: Based on a single-center experience, the frequency of incident Lp(a) testing among increased-risk patients was low but increased significantly over 5-years, likely due to Lipid Clinic referrals with reflex Lp(a) testing and greater awareness about this risk factor. Future work should target appropriate population based Lp(a) testing strategies and clinical decision-making regarding risk management once Lp(a) elevation is diagnosed.
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BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Calcific aortic valve disease is associated with increased thrombin formation, platelet activation, decreased fibrinolysis, and subclinical brain infarcts. We examined the long-term association of aortic valve calcification (AVC) with newly diagnosed dementia and incident stroke in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). METHODS: AVC was measured using non-contrast cardiac CT at Visit 1. We examined AVC as a continuous (log-transformed) and categorical variable (0, 1-99, 100-299, ≥300). Newly diagnosed dementia was adjudicated using International Classification of Disease codes. Stroke was adjudicated from medical records. We calculated absolute event rates (per 1000 person-years) and multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazards ratios (HR). RESULTS: Overall, 6812 participants had AVC quantified with a mean age of 62.1 years old, 52.9 % were women, and the median 10-year estimated atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk was 13.5 %. Participants with AVC >0 were older and less likely to be women compared to those with AVC=0. Over a median 16-year follow-up, there were 535 cases of dementia and 376 cases of stroke. The absolute risk of newly diagnosed dementia increased in a stepwise pattern with higher AVC scores, and stroke increased in a logarithmic pattern. In multivariable analyses, AVC was significantly associated with newly diagnosed dementia as a log-transformed continuous variable (HR 1.09; 95 % CI 1.04-1.14) and persons with AVC ≥300 had nearly a two-fold higher risk (HR 1.77; 95 % CI 1.14-2.76) compared to those with AVC=0. AVC was associated with an increased risk of stroke after adjustment for age, sex, and race/ethnicity, but not after adjustment for ASCVD risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: After multivariable adjustment, AVC >0 was significantly associated with an increased risk of newly diagnosed dementia, but not incident stroke. This suggests that AVC may be an important risk factor for the long-term risk of dementia beyond traditional ASCVD risk factors.
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BACKGROUND: Current guidelines recommend the reporting of incidental CAC on non-EKG-gated CT scans of the chest. The finding of incidental moderate or severe CAC on non-cardiac non-contrast chest CT correlates with a CAC score ≥ 100 Agatston units, a guideline-based indication for a clinician-patient discussion regarding the initiation of statin therapy. In contemporary practice, whether the presence and severity of incidental CAC are routinely reported on such CT scans of the chest is unknown. METHODS: At a major university hospital, we collected a one-month convenience sample of 297 patients who had chest CT imaging for indications other than lung cancer screening (OICT) and 42 patients who underwent lung cancer chest CT screening (LSCT). We evaluated reporting patterns of incidental CAC in the body and impression of the reports as compared to the overreading of such studies by a board-certified CT chest radiologist. We hypothesized and demonstrated that there was underreporting of incidental CAC on these scans. We then undertook an initiative to educate reporting radiologists on the importance of reporting CAC and implemented a reporting template change to encourage routine reporting. Then we repeated another one-month sample (n= 363 for the OICT and n= 63 for the LSCT groups) to evaluate reporting patterns following our intervention. RESULTS: The presence of incidental moderate and severe CAC was systematically underreported in the OICT group (0 and 4.8 %) and the severity was never mentioned in the impression of reports. In the LSCT group, the presence of incidental moderate and severe CAC was also underreported (66.7 % and 75 %) and the severity of CAC was mentioned 50 % of the time in the impression of the reports. Following the initiation of an educational program and radiology reporting template change, there was a significant increase in reporting of moderate or severe CAC in the OICT group (0 vs. 80.0 %, p < 0.001) and (4.8 vs. 93.5 %, p < 0.001) respectively and a significant increase in the reporting of the severity of incidental CAC for those with severe CAC in the LSCT group (50 vs. 94.1 %, p=0.006). CONCLUSION: Despite guideline recommendations, Incidental CAC was underreported at a large academic center. We implemented a system that significantly improved reporting patterns of incidental CAC. Failure to report incidental CAC represents a missed opportunity to initiate preventive therapies. Hospital systems interested in improving the quality of their radiology reporting procedures should examine their practices to assure that CAC quantification is routinely performed.
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ABSTRACT: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a genetic heart condition occurring in up to 1 in 200 patients in the United States, many of whom are young and otherwise healthy. This condition puts those affected at increased risk for adverse cardiac outcomes, including sudden cardiac arrest and death, with particular concern for this to occur during exercise and other forms of exertion. Recent studies aimed at evaluating the risk of exercise in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients have suggested that moderate and even vigorous exercise may be safe for certain patients. Clinical guidelines are changing to reflect this recent information and to encourage a shared decision-making approach, which can allow more hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients to participate in health-promoting exercise activities.
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Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic , Death, Sudden, Cardiac , Exercise , Humans , Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic/therapy , Death, Sudden, Cardiac/etiology , Death, Sudden, Cardiac/prevention & control , Exercise/adverse effectsABSTRACT
Background: The initiation of coronary artery calcium (CAC) is an important physiologic milestone associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk. However, traditional risk factors (RF) do not perform well for predicting incident CAC among the 54 million older U.S. adults. Objectives: The authors sought to assess the association between nontraditional cardiovascular disease RF and incident CAC in older persons. Methods: There were 815 MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) participants ≥65 years of age who had CAC = 0 at Visit 1 and a follow-up CAC scan. Multivariable adjusted Cox hazards ratios (aHR) and C-statistics were calculated to examine the association of nontraditional RF with incident CAC. Results: The mean age was 70.2 years and 67% were women. The median follow-up time to repeat CAC scan was 3.6 years (IQR: 2.6-9.2 years) and 45% of participants developed incident CAC. Albuminuria (aHR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.07-2.09), carotid plaque (aHR: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.04-1.66), and thoracic aortic calcification (TAC) (aHR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.10-1.75) were significantly associated with incident CAC, while higher levels of nontraditional RF including apolipoprotein-B, lipoprotein(a), high-sensitivity troponin T, and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide were not. When added to demographics, albuminuria, carotid plaque, and TAC provided a greater C-statistic improvement (+0.047, P = 0.004) vs all traditional RF combined (+0.033, P = 0.05). Conclusions: Among nontraditional RF and measures of subclinical atherosclerosis, only albuminuria, carotid plaque, and TAC were significantly associated with incident CAC in persons ≥65 years of age. Identification of albuminuria or extracoronary atherosclerosis may help guide the timing of repeat CAC scoring in older persons with baseline CAC = 0.
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BACKGROUND: Aortic valve calcification (AVC), Lp(a) [lipoprotein(a)], and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) are associated with severe aortic stenosis (AS). We aimed to determine which of these risk factors were most strongly associated with the risk of incident severe AS. METHODS: A total of 6792 participants from the MESA study (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) had computed tomography-quantified AVC, Lp(a), and LDL-C values at MESA visit 1 (2000-2002). We calculated the absolute event rate of incident adjudicated severe AS per 1000 person-years and performed multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTS: The mean age was 62 years old, and 47% were women. Over a median 16.7-year follow-up, the rate of incident severe AS increased exponentially with higher AVC, regardless of Lp(a) or LDL-C values. Participants with AVC=0 had a very low rate of severe AS even with elevated Lp(a) ≥50 mg/dL (<0.1/1000 person-years) or LDL-C ≥130 mg/dL (0.1/1000 person-years). AVC >0 was strongly associated with severe AS when Lp(a) <50 mg/dL hazard ratio (HR) of 33.8 (95% CI, 16.4-70.0) or ≥50 mg/dL HR of 61.5 (95% CI, 7.7-494.2) and when LDL-C <130 mg/dL HR of 31.1 (95% CI, 14.4-67.1) or ≥130 mg/dL HR of 50.2 (95% CI, 13.2-191.9). CONCLUSIONS: AVC better identifies people at high risk for severe AS compared with Lp(a) or LDL-C, and people with AVC=0 have a very low long-term rate of severe AS regardless of Lp(a) or LDL-C level. These results suggest AVC should be the preferred prognostic risk marker to identify patients at high risk for severe AS, which may help inform participant selection for future trials testing novel strategies to prevent severe AS.
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Aortic Valve Stenosis , Aortic Valve , Biomarkers , Calcinosis , Cholesterol, LDL , Lipoprotein(a) , Severity of Illness Index , Humans , Aortic Valve Stenosis/blood , Aortic Valve Stenosis/diagnosis , Aortic Valve Stenosis/epidemiology , Aortic Valve Stenosis/diagnostic imaging , Female , Lipoprotein(a)/blood , Male , Middle Aged , Cholesterol, LDL/blood , Aortic Valve/diagnostic imaging , Aortic Valve/pathology , Calcinosis/blood , Calcinosis/diagnostic imaging , Calcinosis/diagnosis , Calcinosis/epidemiology , Calcinosis/ethnology , Aged , Biomarkers/blood , Risk Factors , Risk Assessment , Incidence , United States/epidemiology , Aged, 80 and over , Predictive Value of Tests , Time Factors , Prospective Studies , Proportional Hazards Models , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , PrognosisABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular health literacy (CVHL) and social determinants of health (SDoH) play interconnected and critical roles in shaping cardiovascular health (CVH) outcomes. However, awareness of CVH risk has declined markedly, from 65% of women being aware that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death for women in 2009 to just 44% being aware in 2019. The American Heart Association Research Goes Red (RGR) initiative seeks to develop an open-source, longitudinal, dynamic registry that will help women to be aware of and participate in research studies, and to learn about CVD prevention. We proposed to leverage this platform, particularly among Black and Hispanic women of reproductive age, to address CVHL gaps and advance health equity. METHODS: The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the cross-sectional association of CVHL, SDoH using a polysocial score, and CVH in women of reproductive age at increased risk of developing hypertension (HTN). To achieve this we will use a cross-sectional study design, that engages women already enrolled in the RGR registry (registry-enrolled). To enhance the racial and ethnic/social economic diversity of the cohort, we will additionally enroll 300 women from the Baltimore and Washington D.C. community into the Social Determinants of the Risk of Hypertension in Women of Reproductive Age (SAFE HEART) Study. Community-enrolled and registry-enrolled women will undergo baseline social phenotyping including detailed SDoH questionnaire, CVH metrics assessment, and CVHL assessment. The secondary objective is to assess whether a 4-month active health education intervention will result in a change in CVHL in the 300 community-enrolled women. DISCUSSION: The SAFE HEART study examines the association between CVHL, SDoH, and CVH, with a focus on racial and ethnic minority groups and socioeconomically disadvantaged women of reproductive age, and the ability to improve these parameters by an educational intervention. These findings will inform the future development of community-engaged strategies that address CVHL and SDoH among women of reproductive age.
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Following the publication of results from multiple landmark cardiovascular outcome trials of antihyperglycemic medications over the past 8 years, there has been a major shift in the focus of care for people with type 2 diabetes, from control of hyperglycemia to managing cardiovascular risk. Multiple international cardiology and diabetes society guidelines and recommendations now endorse sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors and glucagon-like protein-1 receptor agonists as first-line therapies to mitigate cardiovascular risk. The most recent publication is the 2023 European Society of Cardiology guideline on the management of cardiovascular disease in those with type 2 diabetes that, for the first time, recommends use of both classes of medications for the mitigation of cardiovascular risk for those with or at high risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease. Here, we review the evidence behind contemporary society guidelines and recommendations for the management of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk.
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Cardiovascular Diseases , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 , Heart Disease Risk Factors , Hypoglycemic Agents , Humans , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/drug therapy , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/complications , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/epidemiology , Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention & control , Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology , Hypoglycemic Agents/therapeutic use , Hypoglycemic Agents/adverse effects , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Risk Assessment , Sodium-Glucose Transporter 2 Inhibitors/therapeutic use , Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor/agonistsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The 2023 Multisociety Guideline for the Management of Chronic Coronary Disease (CCD) updates recommendations for CCD, formerly known as "stable ischemic heart disease." This condition encompasses a spectrum of coronary vascular pathologies from subclinical to clinical ischemic heart disease. HYPOTHESIS: The new "ABC" mnemonic offers clinicians a streamlined framework for applying Class One Recommendations (COR1) and integrating recent updates into CCD management. METHODS: A critical analysis of the 2023 CCD guidelines was conducted, with this review highlighting key elements. RESULTS: The review outlines crucial changes, including novel recommendations supported by current clinical evidence. The focus is on these developments, clarifying their importance for day-to-day clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: The review encourages a synergistic approach between primary healthcare providers and cardiologists to develop comprehensive strategies for lifestyle modification and medication therapy in CCD care. Furthermore, it suggests that utilizing comprehensive risk assessment tools can refine medical decision-making, ultimately enhancing patient care and clinical outcomes.
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Cardiology , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Humans , Cardiology/standards , Chronic Disease , Coronary Disease/therapy , Coronary Disease/diagnosis , Disease Management , Risk Assessment , Societies, Medical , United StatesABSTRACT
Objective: Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is an atherogenic and prothrombotic lipoprotein associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). We assessed the association between regular aspirin use and ASCVD mortality among individuals with versus without elevated Lp(a) in a nationally representative US cohort. Methods: Eligible participants were aged 40-70 years without clinical ASCVD, reported on aspirin use, and had Lp(a) measurements from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III, 1988-1994), the only cycle of this nationally representative US cohort to measure Lp(a). Regular aspirin use was defined as taking aspirin ≥30 times in the previous month. Using NHANES III linked mortality records and weighted Cox proportional hazards regression, the association between regular aspirin use and ASCVD mortality was observed in those with and without elevated Lp(a) (≥50 versus <50 mg/dL) over a median 26-year follow-up. Results: Among 2,990 persons meeting inclusion criteria (â¼73 million US adults), the mean age was 50 years, 86% were non-Hispanic White, 9% were non-Hispanic Black, 53% were female, and 7% reported regular aspirin use. The median Lp(a) was 14 mg/dL and the proportion with elevated Lp(a) was similar among those with versus without regular aspirin use (15.1% versus 21.9%, p = 0.16). Among individuals with elevated Lp(a), the incidence of ASCVD mortality per 1,000 person-years was lower for those with versus without regular aspirin use (1.2, 95% CI: 0.1-2.3 versus 3.9, 95% CI: 2.8-4.9). In multivariable modeling, regular aspirin use was associated with a 52% lower risk of ASCVD mortality among individuals with elevated Lp(a) (HR=0.48, 95% CI: 0.28-0.83), but not for those without elevated Lp(a) (HR=1.01, 95% CI: 0.81-1.25; p-interaction=0.001). Conclusion: Regular aspirin use was associated with significantly lower ASCVD mortality in adults without clinical ASCVD who had elevated Lp(a). These findings may have clinical and public health implications for aspirin utilization in primary prevention.
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Objective: Many studies support the notion that polygenic risk scores (PRS) improve risk prediction for coronary heart disease (CHD) beyond conventional risk factors. However, PRS are not yet considered risk-enhancing factor in guidelines. Our objective was to determine the predictive performance of a commercially available PRS (CARDIO inCode-Score®) compared with the Pooled Cohorts Equations (PCE) in a contemporary, multi-ethnic cohort. Methods: Participants (n = 63,070; 67 % female; 18 % non-European) without prior CHD were followed from 2007 through 12/31/2022. The association between the PRS and incident CHD was assessed using Cox regression adjusting for genetic ancestry and risk factors. Event rates were estimated by categories of PCE and by low/intermediate/high genetic risk within PCE categories; risk discrimination and net reclassification improvement (NRI) were also assessed. Results: There were 3,289 incident CHD events during 14 years of follow-up. Adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for incident CHD per 1 SD increase in PRS was 1.18 (95 % CI:1.14-1.22), and the aHR for the upper vs lower quintile of the PRS was 1.66 (95 % CI:1.49-1.86). The association was consistent in both sexes, in European participants compared with all minority groups combined and was strongest in the first 5 years of follow-up. The increase in the C-statistic was 0.004 (0.747 vs. 0.751; p < 0.0001); the NRI was 2.4 (0.9-3.8) for the entire cohort and 9.7 (7.5-12.0) for intermediate PCE risk individuals. After incorporating high genetic risk, a further 10 percent of participants at borderline/intermediate PCE risk would be candidates for statin therapy. Conclusion: Inclusion of polygenic risk improved identification of primary prevention individuals who may benefit from more intensive risk factor modification.
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BACKGROUND AND AIMS: South Asian adults (SA) are at higher risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) compared with other racial/ethnic groups. Life's Simple 7 (LS7) is a guideline-recommended, cardiovascular health (CVH) construct to guide optimization of cardiovascular risk factors. We sought to assess if the LS7 metrics predict coronary artery calcium (CAC) incidence and progression in asymptomatic SA compared with four other racial/ethnic groups. METHODS: We assessed the distribution of CVH metrics (inadequate: score 0-8, average: 9-10, optimal: 11-14, and per 1-unit higher score) and its association with incidence and progression of CAC among South Asians in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study compared with other race/ethnic groups from the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). RESULTS: We included 810 SA, 2622 Non-Hispanic White (NHW), and 4192 Other adults (collectively 1893 Black, 1496 Hispanic and 803 Chinese American participants, respectively). SA and White participants compared to Other race/ethnicity groups were more likely to have optimal CVH metrics (26% SA vs 28% White participants vs 21% Other, respectively, p < 0.001). Similar to NHW and the Other race/ethnic group, SA participants with optimal baseline CVH were less likely to develop incident CAC on follow-up evaluation compared to participants with inadequate CVH metrics, optimal CVH/CAC = 0: 24% SA, 28% NHW, and 15% Other (p < 0.01). In multivariable linear and logistic regression models, there was no difference in annualized CAC incidence or progression between each race/ethnic group (pinteraction = 0.85 and pinteraction = 0.17, respectively). Optimal blood pressure control was associated with lower CAC incidence among SA participants [OR (95% CI): 0.30 (0.14-0.63), p < 0.01] and Other race and ethnicity participants [0.32 (0.19-0.53), p < 0.01]. CONCLUSIONS: Optimal CVH metrics are associated with lower incident CAC and CAC progression among South Asians, similar to other racial groups/ethnicities. These findings underscore the importance of optimizing and maintaining CVH to mitigate the future risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in this higher risk population.
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Asian , Asymptomatic Diseases , Coronary Artery Disease , Disease Progression , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Black or African American , Coronary Artery Disease/ethnology , Coronary Artery Disease/diagnostic imaging , Ethnicity/statistics & numerical data , Health Status , Heart Disease Risk Factors , Hispanic or Latino/statistics & numerical data , Incidence , Prospective Studies , Race Factors , Risk Assessment , Risk Factors , United States/epidemiology , Vascular Calcification/ethnology , Vascular Calcification/diagnostic imaging , WhiteABSTRACT
Background: Despite cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of death in India, limited data exist regarding the factors associated with outcomes in patients with diabetes who suffer acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods: We examined 21,374 patients with AMI enrolled in the ACS QUIK trial. We compared in-hospital and 30-day major adverse cardiac events including death, re-infarction, stroke, or major bleeding in those with and without diabetes. The associations between diabetes and cardiac outcomes were adjusted for presentation and in-hospital management using logistic regression. Results: Mean ± SD age was 60.1 ± 12.0 years, 24.3% were females, and 44.4% had diabetes. Those with diabetes were more likely to be older, female, hypertensive, and have higher Killip class but less likely to present with STEMI. Patients with diabetes had longer symptoms onset-to-arrival (median 225 vs 290 min; P < 0.001) and, in case of STEMI, longer door-to-balloon times (median, 75 vs 91 min; P < 0.001). Diabetes was independently associated with higher in-hospital death (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.46; 95% CI, 1.12-1.89), in-hospital reinfarction (aOR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.15-2.02), 30-day MACE (aOR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.14-1.55) and 30-day death (aOR, 1.40; 95%CI, 1.16-1.69) but not 30-day stroke or 30-day major bleeding. Conclusion: Among patients presenting with AMI in Kerala, India, a considerable proportion has diabetes and are at increased risk for in-hospital and 30-day adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Increased awareness of the increased cardiovascular risk and attention to the implementation of established cardiovascular therapies are indicated for patients with diabetes in lower-middle-income countries who develop AMI. Clinical Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Unique identifier: NCT02256658.