Blood pressure control status and effects of pravastatin on cardiovascular events occurrence in patients with dyslipidaemia.

Dyslipidaemia is often associated with hypertension, and many clinical trials have shown that lipid-lowering therapy and strict blood pressure (BP) control are important for preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, few reports describe the effect of statins on CVD occurrence in relation to long-term BP control. In the present analysis, we investigated the effects of baseline BP and follow-up BP control on the occurrence of CVD in patients enrolled in the MEGA Study. We investigated whether BP values provide more accurate prediction of the occurrence of CVD, including cerebrovascular disease/transischemic attack (CVA/TIA), and the effect of pravastatin on CVA/TIA. The risk for CVA/TIA and other CVD increased significantly (P≤0.001) as the severity of hypertension increased. In contrast, pravastatin reduced the onset of CVA/TIA, regardless of the BP controlled. The mean BP was a more accurate predictor of CVD than a one-time BP value. In patients with mild-to-moderate dyslipidaemia, elevated BP increases the risk for CVA/TIA and other CVD, and rigorous BP control was important for preventing CVD, in particular CVA/TIA. The 12-month mean BP is useful to avoid attenuation to determine the association between CVD and BP. Pravastatin prevented CVA/TIA, regardless of BP controlled.