High blood pressure linked to cholesterol

Abnormal levels of cholesterol and its components are associated with an increased risk of hypertension in men. In a previous study researchers from the Harvard Medical School in Boston found that high cholesterol is linked to the development of hypertension in women. For the current study, the researchers analysed data from the Physicians' Health Study. The study included 3,110 male physicians between the ages of 40 and 84 with previous cholesterol measurements and no history of brain or heart disease, including hypertension, and who had not been treated for high cholesterol. During an average follow-up of 14 years, 1,019 of the men developed hypertension. After factoring in the effects of age, body mass index, exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, parental history of heart attack before age 60, and diabetes, men with the highest levels of total cholesterol had a 23 percent increased risk of hypertension compared with men with low levels. Those with the highest levels of cholesterol components, excluding high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol), had a 39 percent increased risk compared with men with the lowest levels. Furthermore, men with the highest ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol were 54 percent more likely to develop hypertension. Elevated cholesterol levels seem to precede the onset of hypertension. The relationship may be associated with cholesterol abnormalities and that hypertension may be a sign of atherosclerosis, which also causes hardening of the arteries. Identifying potential risk factors amenable to intervention can reduce the burden of hypertension and subsequent cardiovascular diseases.