Role of hyperinsulinemia in atherosclerotic coronary arterial disease: studies of semi-quantitative coronary angiography

Objective To evaluate the role of insulin resistance on coronary atherosclerosis, angiographic semiquantitative scores of coronary stenosis and calcification were evaluated. Subjects and Methods Ninety-five non-diabetic subjects with coronary arterial disease were selected from our angiographic data base. Hyperinsulinemia was defined as a serum insulin level of ≥60.4 IU/l at 120 minutes after 75 g oral glucose challenge. Results Twenty-three (24%) of the patients exhibited hyperinsulinemia. There was no difference in age or gender between the two subgroups. The incidence of hypertension, smoking habits, hypercholesterolemia, and hyperuricemia were also the same among the insulin resistance subgroups. Subjects with hyperinsulinemia had higher coronary artery scores of stenosis (11.9±5.6 vs 8.3±5.0, p