The effect of different doses of simvastatin on the brachial artery endothelium-dependent flow-mediated vasodilation in patients with coronary heart diseases

Objective To explore the effect of different doses of simvastatin on the brachial artery endothelium-dependent flow-mediated vasodilation(FMD) in patients with coronary heart diseases (CHD). Methods Eighty patients with CHD were included and randomly divided into four groups: control group, simvastatin groups of different doses(5,10,20 mg). The FMD was measured with ultrasound before and after treatment. At the same time, the level of serum lipids was examined.Results Eight weeks after treatment, the level of serum total cholesterol(TC) reduced 9%,18%,29% respectively and the level of serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C) reduced 12%,24%,35% respectively in simvastatin groups of 5,10 and 20 mg(P0.05). The level of serum lipids in control group did not change significantly. In simvastatin groups, the values of FMD was(3.41±2.99)% vs (7.46±5.11)%(5 mg),(3.76±3.01)% vs (7.98±4.92)%(10 mg),(3.59±3.47)% vs (8.09±6.10)%(20 mg) respectively(P0.01) before and after treatment. But there was no significant difference among the three groups. The increase of FMD was not related with the change of serum TC and LDL-C level. The vasodilation response to nitroglycerin and brachial diameter in all groups after simvastatin therapy had no significant change.Conclusion Simvastatin can improve the vascular endothelial function of patients with CHD, but it has no obvious dose-dependent effect.