Study Supports Antihypertensive Effects of Statins

Evidence continues to mount that HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) have significant blood pressure-lowering effects independent of their beneficial effects on cholesterol levels. The use of lipid-lowering measures, particularly statins, "could significantly improve blood pressure control in subjects with both hypercholesterolemia and hypertension," Dr. Claudio Borghi and colleagues from the University of Bologna in Italy write in the American Heart Journal for August.

They looked at the effects of four different lipid-lowering strategies on blood pressure control in 1356 adults with total cholesterol 239 mg/dL or greater participating in the prospective, population-based, longitudinal Brisighella Heart Study. In the study, subjects were randomly assigned to a low-fat diet, cholestyramine, gemfibrozil, or simvastatin for 5 years.

"A significant decrease in blood pressure was observed in the 2 upper quartiles of systolic blood pressure (>/= 140 mm Hg) and was greater in subjects treated with cholesterol-lowering drugs who also had a greater reduction in plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol," they report.
In particular, subjects receiving statins experienced greater declines in systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared with those receiving non-statin medications.

In July 2004, Reuters Health reported results of a Japanese study in which pravastatin was shown to lower blood pressure as well as lipids in a group of hypertensive, hyperlipidemic patients.
Hypertension and hypercholesterolemia often coexist and may account for "a large proportion of the cumulative risk of cardiovascular disease," Dr. Borghi and colleagues point out in their report.

The blood pressure lowering effect of statin drugs observed in patients with hypertension and hypercholesterolemia in this study suggest that a "broader preventive approach to cardiovascular disease should consider the future possibility of a ‘therapeutic crossover’ of drugs that are designed to treat different risk factors," they conclude. Am Heart J 2004;148:285-292.