title: The effectiveness and safety of low dose pravastatin in elderly hypertensive hypercholesterolemic subjects on antihypertensive therapy.
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 LDL-cholesterol 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 microU/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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Taipei Municipal Chung-Hsiao Hospital, Taiwan.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010919:Placebos; D017035:Pravastatin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D010919:Placebos; D017035:Pravastatin