Insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia: role in hypertension, dyslipidemia, and coronary heart disease. Resistance to insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and hyperinsulinemia may play a central role in the cause and clinical course of patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, abnormalities of lipoprotein metabolism, and coronary heart disease. This article summarizes the evidence in support of this general hypothesis. 