Do statins lower blood pressure?

Simardeep Mangat, Sanjay Agarwal, Clive Rosendorff

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hypercholesterolemia is present in many patients with hypertension and adds a significant component of cardiovascular risk. The 3-hydroxy-3 methyl-glutarylcoenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol but also inhibit many of the structural and functional components of the arteriosclerotic process. Structural effects include reductions in vascular smooth muscle hypertrophy and proliferation, fibrin deposition, and collagen cross-linking. Among the functional effects are improvements in endothelial function, reduction in inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species, and down-regulation of angiotensin II and endothelin receptors. These would be expected to reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension; 14 studies have shown statin-induced decrease in blood pressure, but 11 studies showed no effect. Many of the studies had no placebo controls, were of short duration, or had small sample sizes, or combinations of these. Despite predictions made on the basis of the vasoprotective actions of statins, the blood-pressure-lowering effects of statins are at best modest.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)112-123
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Volume12
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2007

Keywords

  • Blood pressure
  • Hypertension
  • Statins

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Do statins lower blood pressure?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this