Peroral glucose tolerance test. Relation to skeletal muscle electrolytes

Seventy patients on long-term diuretic therapy for arterial hypertension and/or congestive heart failure were investigated with regard to skeletal muscle electrolytes and the results of a peroral glucose tolerance test. A significant correlation was observed between the muscle content of potassium and the ability to handle a glucose load. Thirty patients underwent a second set of samples six months after the first one, 23 of whom had a reduction of their muscle potassium content relative to the first biopsy. They simultaneously demonstrated a significant impairment of glucose tolerance.