Effects of a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet on serum lipids, platelet aggregation and thromboxane formation

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet on serum lipids, platelet aggregation, thromboxane formation and blood pressure. Fifteen hyperlipidemic males with normal blood pressure were treated for 2 weeks. Resting supine blood pressure, total serum cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, the ratio of total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides all were significantly reduced. The maximum aggregation and velocity of aggregation for isolated platelets stimulated with either ADP or collagen was significantly reduced. Thromboxane formation during 5 min of platelet aggregation with collagen or ADP was also significantly reduced. These results have important implications for hypertension and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.