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Statins May Lower Blood Pressure: Presented at AHA

By Charlene Laino

NEW ORLEANS, LA -- November 10, 2004 -- Statin therapy leads to a significant reduction in diastolic and systolic blood pressure, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled comparative trial shows.

Beatrice A. Golomb, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, California, presented the results here on November 9^th at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2004.

The study was undertaken to understand why statins lower the risk of stroke, Dr. Golomb said. While some previous observational studies have suggested statin use results in reduced blood pressure, this is the first sizeable parallel design, randomized trial to evaluate the association, she said.

The UCSD Statin Study enrolled 1016 men and women with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in an acceptable range (115 mg/dL to 190 mg/dL). Participants were randomized in a 1:1:1 fashion to 20 mg of simvastatin, 40 mg of pravastatin, or placebo for 6 months. The researchers measured levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure at baseline, 1 month, 6 months, and 8 months.

At 6 months, "both simvastatin and pravastatin led to statistically significant, although modest, reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure," Dr. Golomb reported. Specifically, simvastatin was associated with a 2.79-mm Hg decrease in systolic blood pressure and a 2.67-mm Hg drop in diastolic blood pressure, while pravastatin led to a 2.47-mm Hg decline in systolic blood pressure and a 2.47-drop in diastolic blood pressure.

All the values were statistically significant (P <.0102 for systolic, P <.0024 for diastolic), she said.

Two months after stopping therapy, however, "the effects were reversed, with the difference no longer statistically significant," Dr. Golomb said. "A nonsignificant trend toward separation was evident at 1 month and the effect had dissipated by 2 months off treatment."

"The findings may help to explain the reduced risk of stroke seen with statins, since LDL cholesterol bears little relationship to stroke risk, while blood pressure is a potent risk factor," she concluded.


[Presentation title: Statins Lower Blood Pressure: Results from the UCSD Statin Study." Abstract 1904]

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