Estimation of vascular stiffness in patients with arterial hypertension and atherosclerosis of the lower limb arteries taking into account hypolipidemic therapy

Objective: estimation of parameters of vascular stiffness in patients with arterial hypertension (AH) and atherosclerosis of the arteries of the lower extremities (AALE) taking into account statin therapy. Materials and methods: 120 patients with AH were divided into 3 groups: group 1 — 46 patients with AH and clinically manifested AALE, group 2 — 39 patients with AH and asymptomatic AALE, group 3 — 35 patients with AH without AALE. The patients of each group were divided into 2 subgroups: the 1st subgroup — not receiving statins, the 2nd subgroup — taking statins. All patients underwent laboratory and instrumental studies, including the determination of vascular stiffness parameters using the Vasotens software («Peter Telegin», Nizhny Novgorod) and ultrasonic triplex scanning of the arteries of the lower extremities. Statistical data processing was carried out using Microsoft Office Excel 16 (2015, Microsoft, USA), Statistica 10.0 (StatSoft, USA), IBM SPSS Statistica 26.0 (IBM, USA). Results: lower values of total cholesterol were found in patients of the 2nd subgroup of all studied groups (p<0,05), as well as lower values of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLС) among patients of the 2nd subgroup of the second and third groups (<0,05). In patients of all groups, when using statins, the target values of LDLC were not achieved. Lower values of the arterial stiffness index (ASI) and augmentation index (AIx) were found in patients of the first group of the 2nd subgroup receiving statins in comparison with patients of the 1st subgroup (p<0,05). In patients of the second group of the 2nd subgroup, while taking statins, there was a clear trend towards a lower ASI value compared to the 1st subgroup (p=0.07). Conclusions: the use of statins in patients with hypertension and AALE of varying severity, despite the lack of achievement of target levels of LDLC, contributed to a decrease in vascular stiffness, and, consequently, a decrease in cardiovascular risk.