Simvastatin/Ramipril Combination Shows Promise in Hypercholesterolemic Patients

In patients with hypercholesterolemia, combination therapy with simvastatin and ramipril improves endothelial function and reduces oxidant stress and inflammatory markers-effects expected to lower the risk of cardiovascular events. The findings, are based on two studies involving hypercholesterolemic patients who were treated with various combinations of simvastatin, ramipril, and placebo.

In the first study, which involved 50 patients, simvastatin alone or combined with ramipril had a number of potentially beneficial effects on blood pressure, endothelial function, and inflammatory markers, lead author Dr. Kwang Kon Koh and colleagues, from Gachon Medical School in Incheon, note. In all cases, the magnitude of these effects was significantly greater with combination therapy than with simvastatin alone.

Findings from the second study, which included 45 patients with type 2 diabetes, were consistent with those of the first and showed that the simvastatin/ramipril combination provided significantly greater improvements than ramipril alone.

The results show that “simvastatin combined with ramipril improves endothelial function as reflected by improved flow-mediated dilation, improves fibrinolysis potential, and reduces oxidant stress and inflammatory markers,” the authors state. As such, “combined therapy is expected to more effective to reduce the cardiovascular events than simvastatin or ramipril alone in hypercholesterolemic patients independent of effects to lower blood pressure,” they add. Hypertension 2004;44:180-185.

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