The effectiveness and safety of low dose pravastatin in elderly hypertensive hypercholesterolemic subjects on antihypertensive therapy

Paul Chan, Ching Bing Lee, Tz Shing Lin, Jiing Tang Ko, Wen Harn Pan, Ying Shiung Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of low dose (10 mg) pravastatin in hypercholesterolemic, hypertensive elderly subjects undergoing antihypertensive treatment, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 6-month trial was conducted. The subjects had a total plasma cholesterol of at least 250 mg/dL and had been, for at least 3 months, consuming a standard lipid-lowering diet (American Heart Association Step 1 Diet). Sixty elderly hypertensive patients randomly received placebo (n = 30) or pravastatin (n = 30) treatment. The dosage consisted of 10 mg of pravastatin daily during the 6-month trial. Over that period, in the pravastatin group, plasma levels of total cholesterol and LDLcholesterol significantly (P < .01) dropped (-20% and -25%, respectively) compared to the placebo group. The plasma level of HDL-cholesterol increased (+5%) while triglycerides slightly decreased (-8%) (P < .05). No serious side effects occurred, and pravastatin was generally tolerated. Fasting hyperinsulinemia (11.0 ± 0.8 v 9.3 ± 0.7 μU/mL; P = .06) also improved, although not significantly, after 6 months of pravastatin therapy. Results from this study confirmed that a low dose (10 mg) of pravastatin daily is a safe and effective method of reducing plasma total and LDL-cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic, hypertensive elderly patients who are on concurrent antihypertensive drug therapy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1099-1104
Number of pages6
JournalAmerican Journal of Hypertension
Volume8
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 1995
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cholesterol
  • hypercholesterolemia
  • hypertension
  • pravastatin

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Internal Medicine

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