Endothelial Effect of Statin Therapy at a High Dose Versus Low Dose Associated with Ezetimibe.

Background: The effect of statins on the endothelial function in humans remains under discussion. Particularly, it is still unclear if the improvement in endothelial function is due to a reduction in LDL-cholesterol or to an arterial pleiotropic effect.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that modulation of the endothelial function promoted by statins is primarily mediated by the degree of reduction in LDL-cholesterol, independent of the dose of statin administered.