Is Insulin Resistance Related to Recurrence of Stroke or Incident of Ischemic Heart Disease in Patients with Stroke? A Preliminary Report

Insulin resistance promotes atherosclerosis and has been recognized as an important risk factor for both stroke and ischemic heart disease (IHD). However, the precise relationship between insulin resistance and ischemic stroke recurrence or development of IHD is uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of insulin resistance to ischemic stroke recurrence or IHD in patients with a history of stroke. A total of 32 patients poststroke with hypertriglyceridemia but without a history of diabetes mellitus were asked whether they had experienced stroke recurrence or IHD after discharge. We found that 4 of 32 patients experienced recurrence. Three of these 4 patients had insulin resistance. We classified the subjects into two groups: one group with stroke recurrence and the other group without. We then compared the insulin profiles between these two groups. Although there was no significant relationship between recurrence and insulin resistance, fasting glucose level was higher in patients with recurrence than without. Insulin-resistant patients with recurrence had significantly lower levels of plasma insulin at 120 minutes in the oral glucose tolerance test compared with those without recurrence. This study suggests that insulin resistance in combination with decreased insulin secretion may be associated with ischemic stroke recurrence or IHD.