Intravenous glucose tolerance, insulin, glucose, and free fatty acid levels after myocardial infarction.

Glucose tolerance tests performed on 12 patients within 15 hours of myocardial infarction and repeated two to four weeks later showed failure of insulin secretion, hyperglycaemia, glucose intolerance, and high free fatty acid levels. More pronounced changes were found in patients with cardiogenic shock. These findings suggest that the therapeutic use of potassium, glucose, and insulin should be re-evaluated.