Effects of Statins on Endothelial Function in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Abstract

Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery is a method capable of detecting endothelium dysfunction. Statins are generally consent drugs for reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and are shown to improve the systemic endothelial function. The aim of our study was to assess the endothelial function using FMD of the brachial artery in patients with different degrees of coronary artery stenosis with respect to their treatment with statins. We evaluated the FMD of 221 patients with coronary arteriography performed, of whom 99 (44.8%) were receiving statins and 122 (55.2%) were not receiving statins. We did not find a statistically significant difference in the FMD values between the patients with and without a statin treatment: 5.57 +/- 5.68 and 4.69 +/- 4.48, respectively, P = .581. In the subgroup of patients without angiographically visible coronary artery stenoses or with stenoses <20% (86 patients), patients undergoing statin treatment had a significantly better endothelial function compared to patients without such a treatment: FMD 9.24 +/- 6.87 and 6.50 +/- 4.51, respectively, P = .047. FMD could not distinguish between the patients who were treated with statin and those not treated with statins with the same demographic, clinical, and angiographic characteristics. The only exception was in the group of patients with a minor coronary disease. Statin treatment had a more pronounced effect in the earlier stages of coronary atherosclerosis.