BETAXOLOL IN OBESE HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS - LONG-TERM EFFECTS ON BLOOD-PRESSURE AND SERUM-LIPIDS

The antihypertensive and metabolic effects of betaxolol (20 mg/day) were monitored in 40 patients (17 male), aged 54 +/- 2 yr (mean +/- SEM), with moderate essential hypertension. In a subgroup, consisting of 35 obese patients with a Quetelet index > 25.0, blood pressure, heart rate, side effects and biochemical variables were registered bi-monthly for a period of 6 months and after a placebo run-in and run-out period of 2 weeks. Betaxolol decreased blood pressure from 165 +/- 3/107 +/- 1 to 151 +/- 3/95 +/- 2 mmHg after 2 weeks and further to 151 +/- 3/93 +/- 2 mmHg after 6 months (p < 0.001). Ninety percent of the patients responded to therapy with betaxolol. Heart rate fell from 77 +/- 2 to 64 +/- 1 bpm (p < 0.001). No significant changes were observed in levels of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol or HDL-cholesterol. Triglycerides tended to increase from 2.2 +/- 0.3 to 2.8 +/- 0.4 mmol/l after 4 months of treatment (NS). Renal function was not influenced by betaxolol. Side effects, recorded on a standard questionnaire, did not differ between betaxolol and placebo. In conclusion, betaxolol in a fixed dose of 20 mg/day is an effective antihypertensive drug in the long-term treatment of obese, hypertensive patients, without adverse effects on lipoproteins.