Blood Pressure Medications Can Cause an Increase in Triglyceride Levels. Several studies show that some blood pressure medicines can affect cholesterol levels, including triglycerides.

Beta blockers are widely used for controlling high blood pressure, however some beta blockers such as propranolol, atenolol and metoprolol — can decrease high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good") cholesterol and may lightly increase triglyceride levels. Typically this occurs in people who are more predisposed to or who already have metabolic syndrome.

The metabolic syndrome is characterized by a group of metabolic risk factors in one person. They include:

* Abdominal obesity (excessive fat tissue in and around the abdomen)
* Atherogenic dyslipidemia (blood fat disorders — high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol and high LDL cholesterol
* Elevated blood pressure
* Insulin resistance or glucose intolerance (the body can’t properly use insulin or blood sugar) as in diabetes

If we see Newer group of beta blockers like carvedilol (Carveda, Dimitone, Delatrend} and nebivolol are less often associated with these changes.

Now come to another group of high blood pressure medicines like Thiazide diuretics. These drugs in higher doses also can slightly increase triglycerides as well as total cholesterol. Some observational studies have linked such changes with an increase in cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and stroke. However, controlled trials haven't corroborated this, and in fact, have found a reduction in cardiovascular events with diuretics.

Still, meta-analyses of the older beta blocker drugs such as propranolol, atenolol and metoprolol shows that these medicines should not be initial drugs of choice in the treatment of hypertension except in specific instances such as to prevent recurrent coronary artery disease, to manage heart failure and to treat certain arrhythmias.

There is no hard and fast rule, that you should not take these medicines, so before making any changes in your medicines, take consultation of your doctor.

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