Hypertension and CHD: Evidence of glucose and lipid metabolism involvement

Three hundred and seventy subjects (217 women and 153 men) affected by essential hypertension of moderate or severe degree were studied. Their age ranged from 28 to 57 years, with a mean of 47 years. 251 patients had a normal electrocardiogram (EGG) and 119 patients an abnormal EGG: 78 with T wave abnormalities, 4 with Q-S segment abnormalities, 9 with left bundle branch block and 28 with left ventricular hypertrophy. Control group was composed by 45 non hypertensive subjects matched for age and sex. Glucose and insulin concentrations, before and after the oral glucose intake, were higher in patients with essential hypertension than in control group. The hypertensive patients with abnormal ECG were found to have higher plasma insulin response, high triglyceride plasma levels, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol concentrations, associated with a significant increase in the total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio.