Q: I am 40 years old and undergoing treatment for hypertension since last 2 years. My BP is under control but the triglyceride level is around 250 and cholesterol is 220. Earlier I was under Corcor 5 mg and Repace-H and BP was higher at the end of the day. Now, I am taking Irovel-H in the morning and Amlong 5 mg in the night. I saw an article that triglycerides could be attributed to Hydrochlorothiazide in Irovel. Please advise whether I should take Irbesartan 150 mg (without Hydrochlorothiazide)? Do you have any other suggestions for controlling triglycerides? My sugar levels are within normal limits. There is no family history of hypertension/diabetes.

A:Hydrochlorthiazide in low doses of 12.5 mg is very safe and works very well for BP when combined with Irovel or Repace. Triglycerides (TG) are very susceptible to diet, weight and exercise. Easily digested carbohydrates increase TG. So avoid polished rice and fast foods and sweets and sugar. Whole grain cereals, unpolished rice, whole-wheat atta or bread and natural products like fruits and vegetables contain lot of fibre that can decrease quick absorption of carbohydrates. Exercise and loosing tummy and maintaining ideal weight also help. You also need to exclude diabetes (by FBs & PPBS tests) and hypothyroidism (by TSH test).