Low-density lipoprotein oxidation in essential hypertension

Objectives: To investigate the occurrence of enhanced low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation as an additional factor promoting atherosclerosis progression in hypertensive patients. Design: The oxidation of plasma LDL was investigated in a group of untreated patients with mild-to-moderate essential hypertension without clinically evident target organ damage and in a group of control subjects. Methods: LDL oxidation was evaluated as both the susceptibility to oxidation in vitro and the presence of plasma anti-oxidized LDL antibodies (as an index for oxidation in vivo)