Blood pressure control status and effects of pravastatin on cardiovascular events occurrence in patients with dyslipidaemia

Abstract

Dyslipidaemia is often associated with hypertension, and many clinical trials have shown that lipid-lowering therapy and strict blood pressure (BP) control are important for preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, few reports describe the effect of statins on CVD occurrence in relation to long-term BP control. In the present analysis, we investigated the effects of baseline BP and follow-up BP control on the occurrence of CVD in patients enrolled in the MEGA Study. We investigated whether BP values provide more accurate prediction of the occurrence of CVD, including cerebrovascular disease/transischemic attack (CVA/TIA), and the effect of pravastatin on CVA/TIA. The risk for CVA/TIA and other CVD increased significantly (P≤0.001) as the severity of hypertension increased. In contrast, pravastatin reduced the onset of CVA/TIA, regardless of the BP controlled. The mean BP was a more accurate predictor of CVD than a one-time BP value. In patients with mild-to-moderate dyslipidaemia, elevated BP increases the risk for CVA/TIA and other CVD, and rigorous BP control was important for preventing CVD, in particular CVA/TIA. The 12-month mean BP is useful to avoid attenuation to determine the association between CVD and BP. Pravastatin prevented CVA/TIA, regardless of BP controlled.