Acute hyperglycemia may also induce cardiac myocyte death through apoptosis or by
exaggerating ischemia-reperfusion cellular injury (29). In addition, hyperglycemia-induced abnormalities in hemostasis including increased platelet activation, adhesion,
and aggregation (30); reduced plasma fibrinolytic activity; and increased plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 activity (31). Many of these processes are thought to contribute to
the increase in mortality observed in hospitalized patients experiencing hyperglycemia.