Efficacy of simvastatin compared with atorvastatin in patients with hyperlipidaemia in Kurdistan

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Background and objectives: Lowering the blood cholesterol and low density lipoprotein levels may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of lipid-lowering therapy by simvastatin 20 mg versus atorvastatin 20mg on patients suffering from hyperlipidemia. Method: This study is 16-weeks duration included 75 patients with hyperlipidemia. Patients were assigned randomly to receive either simvastatin 20 mg/day group (1), or atorvastatin 20 mg/day group (2). After 12 hours fasting, lipid profile, atherogenic index and alanine aminotransferase were assessed for the patients at baseline, 8-weeks and at the end of 16-weeks of treatment. Results: After therapy for both groups of patients, as compared to the levels at the baseline, the serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) were significantly reduced while high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was significantly increased. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) increased by both groups of treatment with no significant differences between the two modes of treatment. Conclusion: After treatment with simvastatin 20 mg and atorvastatin 20 mg, there were a reduction in total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-C, and VLDL-C, and an increase in HDL-C in both groups. Comparing the two types of treatment, atorvastatin 20 mg was more effective in lowering triglyceride and VLDL-C than simvastatin 20 mg while Simvastatin led to greater reduction in LDL-C. Both modes of treatment were well tolerated by the patients.