Glucose, insulin and platelet fatty acids following myocardial infarction: an association with infarct size.

Fifty-four patients were studied immediately after myocardial infarction to determine the association between infarct size and blood glucose, serum insulin, plasma lipids and platelet phospholipid fatty acids. Infarct size was estimated indirectly from peak plasma lactate dehydrogenase level and in the known diabetics a significant negative correlation was seen between serum insulin and peak LDH levels (Rs = -0.73, p less than 0.05). In the normoglycaemic patients peak LDH level was inversely associated with platelet phospholipid linolenic acid (C18: 3 w3) (Rs = -0.59, p less than 0.01) and with eicosapentaenoic acid (C20: 5 w3) (Rs = -0.51, p less than 0.05). This association may be explained by the role of these fatty acids in platelet aggregation but the potentially protective effect of these fatty acids appears to be lost in diabetic and hyperglycaemic patients.