Coronary collateral circulation is less developed when ischaemic heart disease coexists with diabetes.

Background: The extent of myocardial ischaemia and the magnitude of systolic function impairment following myocardial infarction (MI) depend to a large degree on the performance of coronary collateral circulation. Endothelial function is altered in several disorders, including diabetes. An impaired development of coronary collateral circulation may be a factor responsible for post-MI complications in patients with diabetes. Aim: To compare the degree of coronary collateral circulation development between patients with advanced ischaemic heart disease (IHD), with or without diabetes. Methods: The study group consisted of 70 consecutive patients with diabetes who underwent coronary angiography between September 1998 and December 1999 and had total occlusion of at least one of the main coronary vessels. The control group consisted of 70 age-, gender, and MI history-matched non-diabetic patients. Coronary collateral circulation was assessed using the collateral score (CS). Results: Patients with diabetes had less developed coronary collateral circulation than the patients without diabetes which was reflected by a significantly lower CS value - 1.47±1.56 vs 2.03±1.81; p Conclusions: Patients with IHD and diabetes have less developed coronary collateral circulation than IHD patients without diabetes, regradless of the extent of coronary lesions. Patients with diabetes who undergo coronary angiography, have more advanced coronary atherosclerotic lesions than patients without diabetes.