People with diabetes, especially those with type 1 diabetes, face a higher risk of complications after receiving heart stents, according to a major study by Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
The study, published in Diabetes Care, examined data from over 160,000 patients who had drug-eluting stents implanted between 2010 and 2020.
These stents are tiny tubes placed in heart arteries to keep them open and slowly release medication to reduce the chance of re-blockage.
The patients in the study were grouped into those with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and those without diabetes.
Researchers found that patients with type 1 diabetes had more than twice the risk of stent complications compared to people without diabetes.
Patients with type 2 diabetes also had a higher risk, though less extreme. The complications observed included re-narrowing of the artery and blood clots forming inside the stent.
“Our results show that people with diabetes, especially type 1, have a much higher risk of stent problems. So it’s really important to think carefully about how we treat these patients,” said Irene Santos-Pardo, lead author and researcher at the Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institutet.
The study also showed that the highest risk occurs in the first few months after getting a stent. In the first month, the rate of complications was 9.27 per 100 person-years in type 1 diabetes patients, compared to 4.34 in non-diabetics. Although the risk decreased after six months, it remained higher in people with diabetes.
“We need to find better ways to treat and monitor diabetic patients who receive stents,” added Thomas Nyström, senior author and professor at Karolinska Institutet.
The research was done in collaboration with the Germans Trias i Pujol Institute in Barcelona.
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