Eighty-nine males suffering from ischemic heart disease and 20 practically healthy males were examined. Coronarography demonstrated atherosclerotic changes in the coronary arteries of the heart in 79.8% of patients, 20.2% of patients had no such changes. Disorders of carbohydrate metabolism were revealed in 55% of patients. High incidence of carbohydrate metabolism disorders was found in patients with intact coronary arteries of the heart, which was close to that in the group of patients with ischemic heart disease and moderate coronary atherosclerosis (44%). The basal level of immunoreactive insulin (IRI) was significantly higher in patients with coronary atherosclerosis than in the controls, at the same time this increase was not significant in patients with intact coronary arteries. IRI reached peak level in patients with ischemic heart disease and atherosclerotic changes on the 20th minute of glucose or insulin load, and this level was higher than that in the controls. The rise in the IRI level on the 20th minute of glucose or insulin load was much less in patients with ischemic heart disease but without signs of coronary atherosclerosis than in patients who had atherosclerotic lesions in the coronary arteries of the heart.