A comparison of the effects of bisoprolol and atenolol on lipoprotein concentrations and blood pressure.

Forty-two patients (28 men, 14 women, age range 27-65 years) with newly discovered mild to moderate hypertension were randomly allocated to treatment with either bisoprolol or atenolol for a double-blind comparison of these two beta 1-adrenoceptor blocking drugs. Two doses of each drug (10 and 20 mg/d for bisoprolol and 50 and 100 mg/d for atenolol) were given, each dose for a 3-month period, the dose to be given first being decided by random allocation of the patients. During the second 3-month period, the patient received the alternative dose. After treatment for 6 and 12 weeks with each dose, the blood pressure, heart rate, and lipoprotein concentrations were checked. Bisoprolol treatment (both 10 and 20 mg) resulted in a decrease in blood pressure in the supine position from 154/100 to 138/89 mm Hg; and atenolol treatment resulted in decreases from 161/102 to 145/90 mm Hg (50 mg/d) and 146/91 mm Hg (100 mg/d). The drugs and doses did not differ in their effect. The triglyceride content in very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) increased during treatment with bisoprolol (10 mg/d) from 1.04 to 1.31 mmol/l (p less than 0.05); during treatment with atenolol (100 mg/d) it increased from 0.90 to 1.14 mmol/l (p less than 0.05). The cholesterol content in low density lipoproteins did not change, but that in high density lipoproteins (HDL) decreased during treatment with both drugs (from 1.22 to 1.10 mmol/l with bisoprolol 20 mg/d, p less than 0.01: and from 1.21 to 1.13 mmol/l with atenolol 100 mg/d, p less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)