Cardiovascular responses to insulin in the absence of hypoglycemia

Cardiovascular responses to intravenous administration of insulin were studied in lightly anesthetized dogs treated with a neuromuscular blocking agent. An early transient pressor response was observed. This abrupt increase in arterial pressure appeared 2–9 min after insulin was given. It was accompanied by increases in cardiac output and right atrial pressure. It occurred in the presence of hyperglycemia and in the absence of hypoglycemia. It was not altered by glucagon but it could be antagonized by ganglionic and adrenergic blocking drugs and by pentobarbital. The response could be produced when insulin was given in the carotid artery in doses that caused no effect when injected in a systemic vein. The experiments suggest that insulin may have a direct action on the brain.