Effect of atorvastatin on hypercholesterolemia and endothelium-dependent vasodilatation

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of atorvastatin on hypercholesterolemia and endothelium-dependent vasodilatation.Methods42 hypercholesterolemic patients took atorvastatin for 8 weeks, and serum cholesterol was measured before and after the treatment. High-resolution ultrasound endothelium-dependent vasodilatation was measured in hypercholesterolemic group before and after the treatment, with 40 healthy subjects as the control group.ResultsThe flow-induced dilation of the brachial artery of hypercholesterolemic group was (3.66±0.72)% much reduced compared with that of the control subjects (13.18±1.23)% ( P 0.001). After 8 weeks treated by atorvastatin 10～20 mg/d, flow-induced dilation of the brachial artery of hypercholesterolemic group increased to (10.98±1.57)% much improved ( P0.001), and serum cholesterole declined from (7.11±0.70) mmol/L to ( 5.86±0.59) mmol/L ( P0.01).ConclusionHypercholesterolemic patients have endothelium-dependent vasodilatation dysfunction, atorvastatin not only reduces cholesterole but also recovers endothelium vasodilatation function.