Metabolic effects of spirapril and atenolol: results from a randomized, long-term study.

Thirty-seven patients with mild to moderate hypertension were randomized in a double-blind, parallell-group study to receive either 6 mg of spirapril or 50 mg of atenolol. After 6 weeks of treatment, the daily dose of spirapril was increased to 12 mg and the daily dose of atenolol to 100 mg, if the target diastolic pressure < or = 90 mmHg was not achieved. The total treatment period was 12 months for both drugs. There were no changes in the lipid levels in the spirapril treatment group whereas the concentration of apoprotein A1 decreased significantly (p < 0.05) in the group treated with atenolol when compared with baseline. There was a tendency in the levels of serum cholesterol and triglycerides to increase and in the level of HDL cholesterol to decrease in the atenolol treatment group compared with baseline. Fasting blood glucose levels did not change significantly in the treatment group when compared with baseline. The 2-hour blood glucose level in the glucose tolerance test increased significantly after the 12-month therapy with both spirapril (p < 0.05) and atenolol (p < 0.05) when compared with baseline levels. There was also a tendency in the 2-hour insulin levels to increase in both the spirapril and the atenolol treatment group after the 12-month treatment period. In conclusion, spirapril had no effect on lipid metabolism whereas atenolol had some untoward effects. In the group treated with atenolol fasting blood glucose levels increased, but both spirapril and atenolol increased the 2-hour blood glucose levels in the glucose tolerance test.