Can we conclude that patients with primary hypertension (PH), on the average, have higher total cholesterol levels than normotensive (NT) patients? This was one of the inquiries of interest for Rossi et al. (A-12). In the following table are total cholesterol measurements (mg/dl) for 133 PH patients and 41 NT patients. Can we conclude that PH patients have, on average, higher total cholesterol levels than NT patients? Let a ¼ :05.

Total Cholesterol (mg/dl)

Primary Hypertensive Patients Normotensive Patients 207 221 212 220 190 286 189 172 223 260 214 245 226 196 191 181 210 215 171 187 142 221 217 265 206 261 204 179 203 208 206 247 182 203 212 241 202 198 221 162 206 163 208 218 210 199 182 196 196 199 216 211 196 225 168 189 185 168 274 239 203 229 142 235 168 223 199 195 184 168 214 214 175 244 178 186 121 134 203 203 214 240 281 226 280 168 236 222 203 222 203 178 249 117 177 135 213 225 217 212 252 179 161 272 227 200 259 203 194 185 239 226 189 245 206 181 265 207 235 218 219 238 228 232 239 152 173 141 226 182 239 231 189 203 236 215 210 237 194 222 195 239 203 196 221 284 210 188 212 180 183 207 237 168 276 266 224 231 188 226 258 251 222 232 224 214 212 174 242 206 260 201 219 200 Source: Data provided courtesy of Gian Paolo Rossi, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.H.A.