AimTo study the distribution of plasma HDL subclasses in stroke patients and the relationship between the levels of the blood pressure and the contents of plasma HDL subclasses in stroke patients.MethodsThe contents of HDL subclasses in 79 healthy controls and 98 stroke subjects were determined by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis associated with immunodetection method.ResultsIn contrast to healthy controls, the contents of preβ₁-HDL and HDL3c increased significantly and that of HDL2a and HDL2b were decreased significantly in the cerebral infarction patients (p<0.05).The levels of preβ₁-HDL and HDL3c were significantly higher and HDL2b level was significantly lower (p<0.001) in cerebral hemorrhage subjects.With the levels of systolic pressure increaing, the contents of preβ₁-HDL, HDL3c and HDL3a increased and that of HDL2b decreased.When the pressure was greater than 160 mmHg, the contents of preβ₁-HDL and HDL3c were significantly higher than healthy controls (p<0.05), and the contents of HDL2b were significantly lower than healthy controls (p<0.05).Systolic pressure was positively correlated with preβ₁-HDL and HDL3c(r=0.235 and 0.250 respectively) and negatively correlated with HDL2b (r=-0.228 respectively).ConclusionsThe particle size of HDL in stroke subjects showed a shift toward smaller size in stroke subjects, and the tendency was related with the increase of systolic pressure levels.