Insulin and hypertension: are they related?

It has been postulated that insulin resistance and the concomitant compensatory hyperinsulinemia contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertension, possibly by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system, promoting renal sodium reabsorption, modulating cation transport, and/or stimulating vascular smooth muscle hypertrophy. The purpose of this article is to present a comprehensive up-to-date review of the literature and critically examine the insulin resistance-hyperinsulinemia-hypertension hypothesis.