Corrected thrombolysis in myocardial infarction frame counts in diabetic patients with angiographically normal coronary arteries

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate corrected thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) frame count (CTFC) in patients with angiographically normal coronary arteries and diabetes mellitus, a condition known to be associated with microvascular dysfunction.

METHODS: Patients who underwent coronary angiography in Gazi University Hospital, Ankara, Turkey between January 2000 and January 2005 were studied. Corrected TIMI frame count was calculated over the left anterior descending (LAD), left circumflex (Cx) and right coronary arteries (RCA) in 118 diabetic and 122 non-diabetic patients with normal coronary angiogram.

RESULTS: The mean CTFC values of the LAD, Cx, and the RCA were similar in diabetics and nondiabetics 21.0 +/= 7.5 versus 21.3 +/= 9.6, 23.3 +/= 9.7 versus 23.5 +/= 10.8, 17.9 +/= 6.7 versus 18.7 +/=7.4 respectively, p>0.05 for all comparisons. In stepwise multivariate linear regression analysis, body surface area had a significant correlation with CTFC of all the 3 coronary arteries.

CONCLUSION: We conclude that CTFC in diabetics and non-diabetics with angiographically normal coronary arteries is similar. Since microvascular disease is an inherent component of diabetes, our finding may reflect the inadequacy of CTFC in predicting microvascular disease in diabetic patients with normal coronary angiograms.