Treatment with amlodipine and atorvastatin have additive effect in improvement of arterial compliance in hypertensive hyperlipidemic patients

Background: This study investigates the effect of amlodipine on arterial compliance (AC), and the effect of atorvastatin on AC when given in combination with amlodipine. Methods: Twenty-one consecutive hypertensive hyperlipidemic patients were included in this study. Patients were followed every month for 6 months (3 months of amlodipine therapy and 3 months of amlodipine and atorvastatin combination). Results: During the 3 months of amlodipine monotherapy, large and small AC were improved by 26% and 38%, respectively, and the systemic vascular resistance was reduced by 10%. The addition of atorvastatin during the next 3 months improved small AC by an additional 42% and decreased the systemic vascular resistance by another 5%, but large AC and blood pressure did not change. Conclusions: Amlodipine improves large and small AC, and the beneficial effect of atorvastatin on small AC is additive to the effect achieved by amlodipine.