Do statins help control blood pressure?

By Geoff Michaels, April 22nd, 2013 | Health | 0 Comments

Statins are known to reduce high cholesterol levels and thereby reduce the risk of heart disease. Some studies have suggested that statins might also be able to lower blood pressure. If this is true, then this would be an added benefit for those at risk of heart disease. Many patients have both high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and will be taking statins for the first and a blood pressure-lowering drug for the second. Could they be getting extra ‘value for money’ from their statins? A study from researchers in Milan sought to answer this question.

They carried out a three year study on a group of 508 men and postmenopausal women aged 45-70 years. The participants had high blood pressure and high cholesterol. They were given a blood pressure-lowering drug and also either the statin pravastatin or a placebo.

Blood pressure went down over time in all participants, although it did not reach optimal levels. There was no difference between the group on statins and the group on a placebo. This was so for both 24 hour blood pressure and for blood pressure measured in the clinic. These findings suggest that statins do not have any extra effects on blood pressure over and above their effect in lowering cholesterol.