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Rebecca Voelker

JAMA. 1999;281:123.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A simple, inexpensive treatment for myocardial infarction (MI) that was abandoned more than 20 years ago may deserve a second chance.

The treatment under study is a combination of glucose, insulin, and potassium (GIK). The combination first was reported as a promising treatment for MI in 1962. Some physicians used it for nearly a decade but ceased when clinical studies offered no consensus on its effectiveness. But now a pilot study of MI patients in South America and Mexico indicates that GIK reduces MI mortality.

In the study, 407 MI patients were randomized to receive a high dose of the combination, a low dose, or no GIK. The death rate among patients who received GIK was 6.7%, compared with 11.5% among those who did not receive the combination. No difference was reported between high-dose and low-dose GIK. In a subgroup of 252 patients who had received a clot-dissolving . . . [Full Text of this Article]