Effect of metoprolol on blood glycerol, free fatty acids, triglycerides and glucose in relation to plasma catecholamines in hypertensive patients at rest and following submaximal work.

Studies were performed in nine male patients with moderate hypertension. Treatment with metoprolol, 50--150 mg three times daily for 4--17 weeks, had no effect on the plasma level of glycerol, free fatty acids, triglycerides or glucose under basal conditions, neither in the supine nor in the upright position. Submaximal work, performed postprandially, increased plasma glycerol before medication but not during metoprolol, in spite of a marked increase in plasma noradrenaline. The work load employed caused no change in free fatty acids, triglycerides or glucose, neither before medication nor during metoprolol.