Atorvastatin treatment is associated with less augmentation of the carotid pressure waveform in hypertension: A substudy of the anglo-scandinavian cardiac outcome trial (ASCOT)

Abstract

Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) reduce cardiovascular events in hypertensive subjects, but their effect on carotid BP, pressure augmentation, and wave reflection is unknown. We compared the effect of atorvastatin with placebo in a substudy of the lipid-lowering arm of the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT-LLA). Hypertensive patients (n=142; age=43 to 79 years; 127 male) with total cholesterol ≤6.5 mmol/L were randomized to atorvastatin 10 mg or placebo. Carotid BP and flow velocity were measured by tonometry and Doppler ultrasound. Augmentation index (carotid AIx) was calculated, and waveforms were separated into backward and forward components by wave..