Past studies reported by this laboratory have documented myocardial dysfunction and progressively developing hypoglycemia in canine endotoxin shock. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of glucose concentrations and insulin infusions on myocardial performance following endotoxin administration. Experiments were carried out on isolated, working canine left ventricular heart preparations exchanging blood with intact dogs. Myocardial function was evaluated following endotoxin and correlated with concentrations of glucose and effects of insulin infusion. Cardiac dysfunction occurred within 2-4 hr postendotoxin and the degree of malfunction was not related to arterial blood glucose concentrations. Maintaining blood glucose at control, preshock, levels by infusion of 50% glucose did not prevent myocardial dysfunction as evidenced by elevations of left ventricular end diastolic pressure, and depressed power. Infusions of insulin reversed cardiac failure and maintained normal performance in spite of wide ranges in glucose concentration (5-120 mg%). Findings suggest that myocardial dysfunction is not precipitated or enhanced by the hypoglycemia of endotoxin shock. The beneficial actions of infused insulin on cardiac performance appear to be elicited on the basis of mechanisms other than myocardial glucose transport.