Lipids and hypertension. Implications of new guidelines for cholesterol management in the treatment of hypertension.

The approach to management of cardiovascular risk factors has been greatly enhanced by the recent publication of results from several large intervention studies. This increased knowledge has led to rapid changes in perspective and to some controversies regarding cardiovascular risk management. The major cardiovascular disease risk factors are high blood pressure, elevated serum cholesterol, and cigarette smoking. In the past, physicians have paid little attention to the latter two factors, focusing primarily on severe hypertension. Initially, the pharmacologic treatment of hypertension consisted mostly of thiazide diuretics, since they were the only agents generally available that were well-tolerated by most patients. Over the past decade, however, new data from large-scale intervention studies and the development of many new classes of antihypertensive agents have considerably improved the approach to managing all three primary risk factors. Recently published results of major clinical trials are likely to further alter physicians' perspectives and influence their practice habits. This article proposes an approach to comprehensive risk management that simultaneously involves all the major risk factors, with emphasis on blood pressure and lipids. The rationale for this integrated approach is based on the following facts: Hypertension trials have not convincingly demonstrated that lowering blood pressure alone reduces the risk for coronary heart disease; Cholesterol lowering has been shown conclusively to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease; Several classes of antihypertensive agents have now been found to significantly affect blood lipids, either adversely or beneficially; and Past observational epidemiologic studies have shown a positive association between blood lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides) and blood pressure, implying that these two conditions commonly occur together. The background supporting these facts, as well as a practical approach to the treatment of hypertension that takes into consideration the management of blood lipids, is provided in this article.