The Relationship Between Coronary Artery Disease and Hyperinsulinemia in the Nonobese and Normotensive Patients

The aim of our study was to determine the role of hyperinsulinemia as a risk factor of coronary artery disease (CAD). We studied 42 persons in 32 of whom a significant lesion was detected in one or more coronary arteries by coronary angiography, while 10 of them were angiographically normal. Plasma total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglyceride values were measured. A six-hour oral glucose tolerance test was performed and venous blood was drawn hourly for the determination of glucose and insulin. The group with CAD showed no difference from the control group with respect to total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol levels. Plasma triglycerides were significantly higher in the group with CAD (p<0.05). The ratio of hyperinsulinemic patients was higher in the atherosclerotic group (47 % versus 10 %, p<0.05). In the group with CAD hyperinsulinemic patients' triglyceride levels wer ehigher than in the group with normoinsulinemia (204.7±100.6 mg/dl versus 170.3±95.6 mg/dl). These results suggest that hyperinsulinemia is related to atherosclerosis.