Effects of atorvastatin on carotid atherosclerosis plaques in patients with coronary artery disease

Objective To observe the efficacy and safety of atorvastatin on carotid atherosclerosis plaques in the patients with coronary artery disease.Methods A total of 58 patients diagnosed as coronary artery disease accompany with carotid atherosclerosis by using uniform ultra sonic scanning were studied and divided into intensive atorvastatin group(n = 28) and low-dose atorvastatin group(n = 30),and received atorvastatin 40 mg and 10 mg for 6 months,respectively.The blood lipid,liver and renal function were measured by biochemical analyzer before and at the 6 months after treatment,respectively.The carotid plaques were determined with intima-media thickness(IMT) and measured by Doppler ultrasonography before and at the 6 months of treatment.Results Compared with baseline values,the level of triglyceride(TG),total cholesterol(TC),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)and IMT were decreased significantly and the level of high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C) was increased significantly after treatment.Only the level of TC and LDL-C were significantly decreased after 6 months in 10 mg atorvastatin treatment group.The changes of TG,HDL-C and IMT were not observed in the course.The levels of TC,LDL-C and IMT showed a significantly decreased in the 40 mg atorvastatin group than in the 10 mg atorvastatin group after 6 months treatment.Only one patient had a little increase in minopherase the 40 mg atorvastatin group in 4 months,but did not reach 2 times than baseline and without increasing in the following treatment.Conclusion The lipid-lowering efficacy and carotid plaque resolution of high-dose atorvastatin are superior to the low-dose in the patients with coronary artery disease and high-dose atorvastatin is safely.