Sixteen Japanese patients of both sexes aged 46-78 years with
essential hypertension were studied at the cardiac clinic of the Department of Cardiology, Shizuoka General Hospital, Shizuoka, Japan. Serum
lipids,
lipoproteins, plasma fibrinolytic parameters,
renin and
noradrenaline were determined before and after 3 months of
cilnidipine treatment. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures and heart rate were reduced while
renin and
noradrenaline levels remained unchanged after
cilnidipine treatment. Total
cholesterol and
tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA),
plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and t-PA-PAI-1 complex were reduced. Changes in the other
lipids,
lipoproteins and fibrinolytic parameters were not significant after
cilnidipine treatment. A negative correlation was found between
low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and t-PA
antigen levels after
cilnidipine treatment. In conclusion,
cilnidipine was effective for the treatment of
hypertension and did not cause reflex
tachycardia in Japanese patients.
Cilnidipine treatment produced a beneficial
lipid profile (decrease in total
cholesterol), but did not show a consistent effect on fibrinolytic parameters in hypertensive patients. The metabolic interaction between beneficial
lipid changes and fibrinolysis will be of value to better our understanding of the antiatherogenic effects of
cilnidipine treatment in hypertensive patients.