Simvastatin in Patients With Isolated Arterial Hypertension

Simvastatin in the Treatment of Isolated Arterial hyPertension and Prevention of cARdiovascular Events

The purpose of this study is to determine whether combined therapy with simvastatin and hypotensive drugs (ACEI or ARB) may decrease the blood pressure. Moreover, we would like to assess the influence of isolated hypertension on endothelial injury, and on the development of atherosclerosis.

Hypertension is one of the most important predictors of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Due to the fact that hypertension frequently coexists with hypercholesterolemia and diabetes which increase the risk of CVDs development, it is advisable to use the optimal combined therapy (hypotensive + hypolipidemic + hypoglycemic)in this group of patients. Statins are the most effective and widely used drugs for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. According to the available experimental and clinical data they may decrease the blood pressure (BP) in normotensive and hypertensive patients. However, it is still difficult to determine to what degree the reduction of both blood pressure and cardiovascular risk is due to hypotensive or hypolipidemic/pleiotropic effects of statins.

Inclusion Criteria:

• isolated hypertension (I or II class according to ESH guidelines 2009)

Exclusion Criteria:

• ischemic heart disease, prior percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), prior coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), heart failure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, active smokers