Acute Effects of Blood Pressure Elevation on Insulin Clearance in Normotensive Healthy Subjects

Abstract

Reduced clearance of insulin from plasma contributes to the hyperinsulinemia associated with essential hypertension (EH); however, the association between impaired insulin clearance and EH remains unexplained. Whether elevated blood pressure (BP) affects insulin clearance is unknown; therefore, we used the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp to determine the effects of BP elevation on insulin clearance and sensitivity in eight healthy volunteers. Placebo infusion increased mean BP by 2.6 +/- 1.6 mm Hg, which was significantly less than rises produced by phenylephrine, an alpha1 -adrenoceptor agonist (+11 +/- 1.8 mm Hg, P