The effects of diuretics and adrenergic-blocking agents on plasma lipids.

ANTIHYPERTENSIVE MEDICATIONS CAUSE THE FOLLOWING CHANGES IN PLASMA LIPIDS AND LIPOPROTEINS: Thiazide and loop diuretics increase triglyceride, total cholesterol and low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels with no change in high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. beta-Adrenergic antagonists increase triglyceride and decrease HDL cholesterol levels. A rise in very-low-density-lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol balances the decrease in HDL cholesterol, so that there is no significant change in total cholesterol. alpha-Adrenergic antagonists decrease triglyceride, increase HDL cholesterol and may decrease VLDL and LDL cholesterol. Labetalol, with both alpha- and beta-adrenergic antagonistic activity, does not affect plasma lipids in a small number of studies. The calcium channel blockers nifedipine and verapamil also have no consistent effect on lipoprotein levels in a small number of studies.