Antihypertensive Agents Cause Unfavourable Changes in the Serum Cholesterol Profile of Nigerian Hypertensive Patients

Lowering blood pressure by treatment prevents renal and cerebrovascular complications in most hypertensives, but does not substantially protect against coronary heart disease (CHD). This study investigated serum lipid changes in hypertensive patients which may predispose the patients to CHD. Serum total and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol of 130 hypertensives who had been treated for at least 5 years with various agents, and those of 130 age and sex-matched controls were assayed using cholesterol and HDL kits from Randox. The ratio of HDL cholesterol to total cholesterol (HDLC/TC) was calculated for each subject. HDLC/TC ratios of hypertensives were plotted against systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and the tension factor defined as the product of the two blood pressures. Hypertensive subjects had significantly (P < 0.001) higher TC and lower HDCL (P < 0.01) than normotensives, irrespective of the drugs used for their treatment. Female hypertensives had identical TC to their male counterparts but their mean HDCL was significantly higher than those of the males (P < 0.05). HDLC/TC ratios were lower in hypertensives and showed strong negative correlation with systolic blood pressure (r = -0.48; P < 0.05), diastolic blood pressure, (r = -0.79; P < 0.001), and tension factor (r = -0.64; P < 0.01). It is concluded that most anti-hypertensives alter the distribution of cholesterol in lipoprotein fractions in Nigeria patients. Key words: cholesterol, hypertension, CHD risk, anti-hypertensive agents Journal of Medical Laboratory Sciences Vol.12(1) 2003: 32-4