Effect of rosuvastatin on systemic blood pressure in patients with hypercholesterolemia.

Objective: To investigate whether rosuvastatin reduces blood pressure (BP) in patients with hypercholesterolemia.

Methods: The present study investigated the effect of rosuvastatin on lipids and clinical parameters in 25 patients with a mean (± SD) age of 58.4±10.6 years over a three-month period.

Results: Rosuvastatin (2.5 mg/day to 5.0 mg/day) reduced systolic BP from 136.3±13.1 mmHg to 130.8±10.7 mmHg (P<0.01), along with a significant reduction in serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (P<0.01). The patients were divided into two groups: 13 responders whose BP decreased by >5 mmHg with rosuvastatin treatment and 12 nonresponders who showed a BP reduction of ≤5 mmHg. Baseline systolic BP was significantly higher in responders than nonresponders (143.6±9.6 mmHg versus 128.4±11.9 mmHg, respectively; P<0.01). Responders also had a lower serum concentration of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein compared with nonresponders (0.11±0.07 mg/dL versus 0.40±0.28 mg/dL; P<0.01). The extent of BP reduction was positively correlated with baseline systolic BP (r=0.585; P=0.0021) but not with the reduction of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level. Among the patients with baseline systolic BP >130 mmHg, all 11 responders (138.3 mmHg) were nonsmokers, while five of six nonresponders (145.7 mmHg) were smokers.

Conclusion: Rosuvastatin had an additive antihypertensive effect in patients with poorly controlled hypertension that was independent of its lipid-lowering effect, which may be related to an inflammatory mechanism.