Thiazides deplete body potassium¾This is a common and important effect. In fact, there is an expected death rate from potassium depletion in people treated with thiazide diuretics. When potassium in the body and blood go low, the heart becomes electrically unstable and dangerous rhythms develop. Although it usually requires months or years of treatment, it happens all too frequently.
Thiazides deplete magnesium¾Like potassium loss, loss of the mineral magnesium also allows electrical instability in the heart which can lead to dangerous heart rhythms. It can also create or worsen insulin resistance, increase triglycerides, reduce HDL.
Thiazides reduce HDL ("good") cholesterol
by several points
Thiazides increase triglycerides
Thiazides increase small LDL particles¾Remember these, the number one cause for heart disease in the U.S.?
Thiazides increase uric acid¾Many researchers have been arguing that uric acid is a risk factor for coronary heart disease and heart attack: The higher the uric acid blood level, the greater the risk for heart attack. Thiazides have long been known to increase uric acid, occasionally sufficient to trigger attacks of gout (a form of arthritis due to uric acid crystals that precipitate in joints).