Blood pressure–lowering activity of statins: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of placebo-randomized controlled trials

Comparative Effectiveness of Novel Combination Therapies for Simultaneous Management of Hypertension and Hypercholesterolemia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Hypertension and hypercholesterolemia are the two most common modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Current guidelines recommend treating these risk factors simultaneously rather than in isolation. One prominent way to simultaneously treat the risk factors is by concurrently administering blood pressure (BP) lowering and lipid-lowering drugs (statins). However, there is still a controversy on which antihypertensive drugs to combine with statins for effective treatment. Therefore, the present meta-analysis assessed the efficacy of various antihypertensive agents combined with statins on BP and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Google Scholar databases were searched thoroughly for records published in English up to February 2024. According to the PICOS (Patients, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Study design) criteria, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effectiveness of combination therapy of antihypertensives and statins in treating hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were eligible for inclusion. Furthermore, statistical analyses were performed using Review Manager software (RevMan version 5.4.1), and quality assessment was performed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Eight RCTs comprising 1,182 patients with hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were included. Compared to statin monotherapy, no significant difference in the change of LDL-C levels was observed in patients receiving combination therapy of angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) with statins (MD, -3.98; P = 0.56) and BBs with statins (mean difference [MD], -0.47; P = 0.90). However, calcium channel blockers (CCBs) combined with statins showed a significantly greater reduction in LDL-C levels than statins alone (MD, -8.0; P = 0.0008). Similarly, patients treated with CCBs and statins had a considerable decrease in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) than those treated with antihypertensives only (MD, -6.37; P = 0.04). On the other hand, patients receiving antihypertensive drugs only demonstrated significantly better reductions in systolic blood pressure (SBP) than patients treated with combination therapy of ARBs and statins (MD, 2.88; P < 0.00001). Furthermore, we found that triple combination therapy was associated with better BP-lowering effects than double combination therapy of antihypertensive and statin (MD, -15.15; P < 0.00001 for SBP; and MD, -10.28; P < 0.00001, for DBP). No significant difference was recorded in the incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events. Concurrent administration of antihypertensives and statins has similar effects on BP and LDL-C as the use of either drug alone. Furthermore, triple combination therapy (two antihypertensives and a statin) is associated with better BP-lowering effects than double combination therapy (one antihypertensive and a statin).

Comparative Study Between the Effects of High Doses of Rosuvastatin and Atorvastatin on Ventricular Remodeling in Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND

Most studies reported that treating ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) patients with high doses of rosuvastatin or atorvastatin could improve left ventricular remodeling and cardiac function.

PURPOSE

The current study compared the impact of high doses of rosuvastatin and atorvastatin on hypertrophy, fibrosis markers, serum inflammatory markers, and left ventricular function in STEMI patients after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

METHOD

After primary PCI, eighty STEMI patients were randomized to receive either 20 mg of rosuvastatin (n = 40) or 40 mg of atorvastatin (n = 40) once daily for 3 months. Soluble Suppression of Tumorigenicity-2 (sST2), Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9), C-Reactive Protein (CRP), lipid parameters, liver enzymes, and echocardiographic parameters were assessed for the two groups at baseline and after 3 months.

RESULTS

After 3 months of treatment, a statistically significant reduction was observed in the rosuvastatin group regarding the levels of CRP (16 ± 6 vs. 20 ± 10 mg/L, P = 0.024) and MMP9 (104 ± 33 vs. 130 ± 42 ng/L, P = 0.003) compared with the atorvastatin group. The median percentage decrease in sST2 level in the rosuvastatin group was higher (6.1%) than in the atorvastatin group (2.3%) after 3 months of treatment. Also, in the rosuvastatin group, LVEF was significantly increased (48.5 ± 9 vs. 43.5 ± 11%, P = 0.029), while LVEDV and LVESV were significantly decreased compared to those of the atorvastatin group (101 [81/135] vs. 134 [100/150] ml, P = 0.041) (53 [37/75] vs. 73 [52/92] ml, P = 0.033), respectively.

CONCLUSION

High-intensity rosuvastatin was superior to high-intensity atorvastatin in reducing the inflammatory response and myocardial fibrosis, thus improving ventricular remodeling and cardiac function better in STEMI patients.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This randomized controlled trial was registered on October 11, 2022, on ClinicalTrials.gov under registration number: NCT05895123 "retrospectively registered".

Statins As Anti-Hypertensive Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Hypertension is the most prevalent condition in clinical practice. Hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolaemia are major contributing factors to cardiovascular diseases. They commonly coexist in a single patient. Statins have been used as prominent medicines for the reduction of cardiovascular events. Statins have been shown to reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension and have lipid-lowering properties in recent articles. Statins reduce blood pressure because of their impact on endothelial function, their interactions with the renin-angiotensin system, and their influence on major artery compliance. This meta-analysis aimed to ascertain the effectiveness and efficacy of statins for managing hypertension in patients with hypertension. Systematic searches were conducted on PubMed, Science Direct, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. Randomized controlled trials, systematic trials, and cohort studies were retrieved using keywords on statins and their use in patients with hypertension. Exclusion criteria included studies that were not in the English language, studies that did not include patients on statins with hypertension, studies that did not provide enough information, technical reports, opinions, or editorials, and studies involving patients < 18 years old. The inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, adult patients aged > 18 years old, and studies that were freely available or through institutional login. This meta-analysis scrutinized 9361 randomized controlled trials, clinical trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews, of which 32 articles including 25 randomized controlled trials and seven meta-analyses were included in the final analysis. This meta-analysis of the role of statins in hypertensive patients aimed to determine the outcome of hypertension control along with antihypertensive medication. Our study showed that statins are useful in reducing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. We used a heterogeneous model for analysis due to variations in the study characteristics. The I2 value was 0.33 (0.76, 0.10) for systolic blood pressure and 0/88 (0.86, 0.90) for diastolic blood pressure. The I2 value for the seven meta-analyses included in the study was 1.79 (2.88, 0.69).

Comparative efficacy of fixed-dose statin and antihypertensive agent combinations: A network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

The concurrent administration of statins and antihypertensive agents has been associated with improved cardiovascular outcomes, although the optimal fixed-dose combination remains unclear. This meta-analysis aims to compare the blood pressure and lipid-lowering effects of various statin and antihypertensive drug combinations.

METHODS

PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CENTRAL and Clinicaltrials.gov were systematically searched from inception to 20 March 2021. Randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of statin-antihypertensive agent combinations on systolic blood pressure or serum lipids were held eligible. A random-effects frequentist model was applied to provide estimates of mean difference of percentage change.

RESULTS

Overall, 18 studies were included, comprising 4450 patients. Compared to statin monotherapy no significant difference in the percentage change of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was achieved by adding any antihypertensive agent. Compared to amlodipine monotherapy, the addition of moderate-intensity statin resulted in a significantly greater percentage reduction of systolic blood pressure (-2.22%, 95% confidence intervals: [-3.82 to -0.62]). Combined high-intensity statin and amlodipine lead to significant increase of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (8.34%, 95% confidence intervals: [0.73 to 15.95]), while effective triglyceride reduction was achieved by adding amlodipine and telmisartan to high-intensity statin (-14.68%, 95% confidence intervals: [-28.48 to -0.89]). No significant difference of adverse effects was observed.

CONCLUSION

The present network meta-analysis suggests that the administration of fixed-dose combinations of statins and antihypertensive agents is safe and effective in reducing blood pressure and serum lipids. The optimal dosing strategy to prevent cardiovascular events remains to be determined.