Comparative study of the effects of antihypertensive treatment with atenolol and doxazosin on lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, and phospholipids

We conducted an open-label study to evaluate the effects on blood pressure lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, and phospholipids of two antihypertensive drugs: atenolol, a cardioselective nonsympathomimetic beta-blocker, and doxazosin, a long-acting alpha1-blocker. Sixty-four patients, 24 men and 40 women, were included in the study. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either 25 mg of atenolol or 1 mg of doxazosin. The doses of the drugs were titrated to a maximum of 100 mg for atenolol and 16 mg for doxazosin to achieve a diastolic blood pressure below 90 mm Hg. Once titration was achieved, the treatment period lasted 6 months. Low doses of atenolol (37.5 ± 13.7 mg, mean ± SD) controlled low and moderate hypertension and decreased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. Standard doses of doxazosin (5.4 ± 5.6 mg) were required to control blood pressure; doxazosin in these doses decreased LDL-C and apolipoprotein B levels and increased the phospholipid content of high-density lipoprotein 2. The effectiveness of doxazosin in controlling systolic blood pressure measured in the lying position was limited. We concluded that both doxazosin and atenolol slightly modified lipids, although doxazosin modified more lipid fractions than atenolol. Both drugs reduced blood pressure, but atenolol was more effective than doxazosin when patients were lying down. © 1996, All rights reserved.