Pravastatin decreases blood pressure in hypertensive and hypercholesterolemic patients receiving antihypertensive treatment

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have suggested that the lipid-lowering agents, statins, may help reduce blood pressure (BP). The goal of the present study was to characterize the effect of pravastatin on BP in hypercholesterolemic and hypertensive patients already receiving antihypertensive drugs.

Methods and results: Eighty-two patients with hypercholesterolemia were retrospectively studied before and after 3 months of treatment with pravastatin. Forty-four patients had hypertension (HT group) and were receiving antihypertensive treatment, while the remaining 38 patients were normotensive (NT group). Patients in the HT group were further subdivided into those with uncontrolled or controlled BP. Pravastatin treatment significantly reduced systolic BP (SBP) in the HT group (134+/-16 to 130+/-13 mmHg, p<0.005) but not in the NT group (124+/-10 to 123+/-9 mmHg, p=0.52), despite the fact that treatment significantly reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in both groups (HT group 178+/-27 to 132+/-17 mg/dl, p<0.0001; NT group 169+/-27 to 125+/-21 mg/dl, p<0.0001). Further, pravastatin significantly decreased SBP in the uncontrolled BP group (148+/-7 to 138+/-12 mmHg, p<0.005) but not in the controlled BP group (122+/-10 to 123+/-9 mmHg, p=0.72).

Conclusion: Concomitant use of statins and antihypertensive drugs could result in improved BP control in hypertensive patients with hypercholesterolemia.