Randomised two way crossover comparison of the effects of six weeks propranolol and acebutolol therapy on plasma lipid profiles in patients with hypertension or ischaemic heart disease.

The effect of propranolol and acebutolol therapy on serum lipoproteins was studied in thirty patients (mean age 43.9 +/- 8.7 years) with essential hypertension and/or stable myocardial ischaemia. Patients received six weeks therapy with propranolol (80-160 mg per day) and acebutolol (400-800 mg per day) each in random order and were changed over from one to the other beta-blocker after 6 weeks therapy. On propranolol treatment there was no significant effect on total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol but the concentration of serum triglycerides (94.2 +/- 37.7 to 129.1 +/- 41.2 mg/dl) and VLDL cholesterol (18.9 +/- 7.8 to 26.1 +/- 8.1 mg/dl) significantly increased, concentration of HDL cholesterol (49.5 +/- 9.4 to 42.4 +/- 8.7 mg/dl) significantly decreased (p less than 0.01). Atherogenic index also worsened from 4.17 +/- 0.48 to 5.15 +/- 0.54 (p less than 0.05) on propranolol therapy. Acebutolol therapy, on the other hand, produced no significant change in the concentration of total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and VLDL cholesterol.