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Single high dose atorvastatin does not ameliorate endothelial function and large arterial stiffness in dyslipidemic

M Tulmac1, V Simşek, E Tireli

  • 1Department of Cardiology, Kirikkale University Faculty of Medicine, Kirikkale, Turkey. mtulmac@yahoo.com

European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences
|August 24, 2012
PubMed

Insights

A single high dose of atorvastatin did not improve endothelial function or arterial stiffness in patients without atherosclerosis. These early beneficial effects of statins may not apply to non-atherosclerotic individuals.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Pharmacology
  • Endothelial Function

Background:

  • Statins are known to improve atherosclerotic risk factors like flow-mediated dilatation (FMD).
  • Limited data exists on the early impact of statins on endothelial function in non-atherosclerotic individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the acute effects of a high-dose atorvastatin on endothelial function and arterial stiffness.
  • To assess these effects in statin-naive, dyslipidemic patients without atherosclerosis.

Main Methods:

  • Enrolled 30 statin-naive dyslipidemic non-atherosclerotic patients.
  • Measured arterial stiffness and FMD via finger photoplethysmography and brachial artery assessment.
  • Evaluated parameters 24 hours after a single 80 mg oral dose of atorvastatin.

Main Results:

  • No significant changes in stiffness indices were observed post-atorvastatin administration.
  • Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) also showed no significant difference from baseline values.
  • The 80 mg dose of atorvastatin did not acutely impact endothelial function or arterial stiffness in this cohort.

Conclusions:

  • Early improvements in endothelial function attributed to statins may be linked to endothelial injury.
  • The findings suggest that the acute benefits of statins might be specific to patients with existing atherosclerosis.
  • This study indicates that statins may not offer immediate vascular benefits in non-atherosclerotic individuals.
Abstract

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