1. Insulin simultaneously causes hypokalaemia and antinatriuresis, and it has been suggested that the two effects are tightly coupled. Whether these actions are preserved in patients with essential hypertension is not known.
2. Eight hypertensive patients and eight normotensive control subjects were studied before and after the ingestion of 75 g of glucose. Despite similar glycaemic profiles, the patients showed a hyperinsulinaemic response incremental area 49 ±8 versus 27 ± 6 nmoll−1 3h, P <0.04) but a blunted hypokalemic response (−7±1 versus −16±1%, P <0.001). Both absolute and fractional urinary excretion of sodium and potassium were significantly decreased during glucose-induced hyperinsulinaemia in hypertensive patients as well as in normotensive subjects (P <0.05 for all changes).
3. To test whether hypokalaemia is required for insulin-induced antinatriuresis, each hypertensive patient received another oral glucose load during which enough potassium chloride was given to clamp the plasma potassium concentration at baseline. Under these conditions, significant insulin-induced antinatriuresis still occurred. In addition, whereas the glycaemic profile was superimposable, the response of the plasma insulin concentration was significantly greater with than without maintenance of the plasma potassium concentration (total area 79 ± 14 versus 63 ± 8 nmoll−1 3h, P <0.04).
4. We conclude that (a) insulin causes antinatriuresis, antikaliuresis and hypokalaemia under physiological conditions; (b) in hyperinsulinaemic (insulin-resistant) patients with essential hypertension, the anti-natriuretic action of insulin is quantitatively preserved; and (c) clamping plasma potassium levels prevents insulin-induced antikaliuresis but not anti-natriuresis, and potentiates the insulin secretory response to glucose.
