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Use of statins and blood pressure control in treated hypertensive patients with hypercholesterolemia
C Borghi1, M G Prandin, F V Costa
1Department of Internal Medicine, University of Bologna, Italy. claudio@med.unibo.it
Insights
Adding statins to antihypertensive drugs significantly improved blood pressure control in patients with hypertension and high cholesterol. This enhanced blood pressure reduction was clinically relevant and partly linked to cholesterol-lowering effects.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Pharmacology
- Metabolic Disorders
Background:
- High serum cholesterol is common in arterial hypertension patients, potentially affecting blood pressure control.
- Managing both conditions simultaneously is crucial for cardiovascular health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare blood pressure changes in hypertensive hypercholesterolemic patients treated with statins versus controls.
- To evaluate the efficacy of statins as an adjunct to antihypertensive therapy.
Main Methods:
- A 3-month study involving 41 patients with hypertension and hypercholesterolemia (HC-S) treated with statins and antihypertensives.
- Comparison with matched controls: 44 patients with high cholesterol (HC-D) and 45 with normal cholesterol (NC-D), all on antihypertensives and diet.
Main Results:
- Statin-treated patients (HC-S) showed significantly greater reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (-11.3%/-10.6%) compared to both HC-D (-6.6%/-6.1%) and NC-D (-6.9%/-6.8%) groups (p < 0.05).
- A slight linear correlation was observed between diastolic blood pressure changes and total cholesterol reduction in statin-treated patients (R = 0.37, p = 0.043).
Conclusions:
- Statins, when combined with antihypertensive drugs, improve blood pressure control in patients with uncontrolled hypertension and hypercholesterolemia.
- The observed additional blood pressure reduction is clinically significant and partially attributed to the lipid-lowering effect of statins.
Abstract:
High serum cholesterol has been frequently reported in patients with arterial hypertension in whom it might influence the blood pressure control. The aim of this study was to compare the extent of blood pressure changes in 41 patients with hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, taking antihypertensive drugs and treated for 3 months with statins (HC-S; pravastatin or simvastatin) and compared with matched controls with high (HC-D; 44) or normal serum cholesterol (NC-D; 45) undergoing antihypertensive treatment combined with dietary treatment alone. After 3 months of follow-up, a greater reduction of systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure values was observed in HC-S patients (ASBP/DBP, -11.3 +/-3/-10.6 +/- 2%) when compared with both HC-D (deltaSBP/DBP, -6.6 +/- 2/-6.1 +/- 2%; p < 0.05) and NC-D (deltaSBP/DBP, -6.9 +/- 2/-6.8 +/- 1.5%; p < 0.05). In statin-treated patients, a slight linear relation has been found between the percentage changes in DBP and those in plasma total cholesterol (R = 0.37, p = 0.043), whereas no relation was found with SBP changes (R =0.11; p = 0.35). In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrate that the use of statins in combination with antihypertensive drugs can improve blood pressure control in patients with uncontrolled hypertension and high serum cholesterol levels. The additional blood pressure reduction observed in patients treated with statins is clinically relevant and only partially related to the lipid-lowering effect.