INSULIN AND HYPERTENSIVE CARDIOVASCULAR-DISEASE

Resistance to insulin-stimulated glucose uptake is associated with sev eral cardiovascular disease risk factors, including hypertension, dysl ipidemia, and alterations of the blood clotting cascade that accentuat e thrombosis. This constellation of risk factors may be recognized at young ages and is at least in part heritable. Recognition of this synd rome dictates that preventive and therapeutic strategies should addres s overall cardiovascular disease risk. In patients with hypertension o r diabetes, additional clinical trials are required to identify those interventions that will most effectively reduce not only overall risk but also definitive cardiovascular disease endpoints.