The Role of Plasma Triglyceride/High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Ratio to Predict New Cardiovascular Events in Essential Hypertensive Patients

Triglyceride (TG) to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (TG/HDL-C) has been suggested as a simple method to identify unfavorable cardiovascular outcomes in the general population. The effect of the TG/HDL-C ratio on essential hypertensive patients is unclear. About 900 consecutive essential hypertensive patients (mean age 52.9±12.6 years, 54.2% male) who visited our outpatient hypertension clinic were analyzed. Participants were divided into quartiles based on baseline TG/HDL-C ratio and medical records were obtained periodically for the occurrence of fatal events and composite major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) including transient ischemic attack, stroke, aortic dissection, acute coronary syndrome, and death. Participants were followed for a median of 40 months (interquartile range, 35–44 months). Overall, a higher quartile of TG/HDL-C ratio at baseline was significantly linked with higher incidence of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events. Using multivariate Cox regression analysis, plasma TG/HDL-C ratio was independently associated with increased risk of fatal events (hazard ratio [HR], 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13–1.37; P≤.001] and MACEs (HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.06–1.21; P≤.001). Increased plasma TG/HDL-C ratio was associated with more fatal events and MACEs in essential hypertensive patients.