A new global study has indicated that adding a statin drug to the medication therapy of patients with high blood pressure and a moderate risk of heart disease can lower that risk by as much as 40 percent, according to an article on Reuters.
The findings from the trial, called HOPE-3, were presented at the annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago on Saturday. The study involved patients who were over 55 for men and 60 for women, with at least one of the primary risk factors for heart disease, such as being obese or a smoker. Over 12,000 patients worldwide were involved in the research.
The trial, funded by the Canadian Health Institutes and AstraZeneca, included research centers in China, India, Latin America, Africa, and Canada, but dd not include any centers in the United States, because of the high cost of research in the US.
The threshold for being considered as having high blood pressure was a systolic pressure of over 140. These patients were given AstraZeneca Plc’s Crestor statin drug along with a combination tablet containing the blood pressure treatment candesatran and the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide. Those receiving the treatment regimen experienced a 40 percent reduced risk of having a heart attack or stroke over a six-year period.
Dr. Salim Yusuf, a professor of cardiology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada who headed the study, said the trial indicates that those with a moderate heart disease risk, along with high blood pressure of 140 or more, should be given statin drugs as part of their treatment. He continued that currently, physicians do not always prescribe statins the that risk group automatically.
“Intermediate-risk people with hypertension had a clear benefit when taking both a statin and an agent that lowers blood pressure,” commented Yusuf. “These simple methods can be used practically everywhere in the world, and the drugs will become even cheaper as more and more systems and people adopt these therapies,” he added.