Effects of rosuvastatin on serum asymmetric dimethylarginine levels and incidence of long-term cardiovascular events in patients with hyperlipidaemia and H-type hypertension

Abstract

Aims/Background Rosuvastatin is a common lipid-lowering statin on the market, but its impact on the incidence of long-term cardiovascular events is not well clarified. This study aimed to explore the effects of rosuvastatin on serum asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels and the incidence of long-term cardiovascular events in patients with hyperlipidaemia and H-type hypertension. Methods This retrospective study included 158 patients with hyperlipidaemia and H-type hypertension who were treated in the Hebei Cangzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine from August 2015 to August 2016. The patients were divided into an occurrence group and a non-occurrence group according to the occurrence of long-term cardiovascular events following the resuvostatin treatment. The changes in blood lipids, blood pressure, serum ADMA levels and vascular endothelial function indexes before and after treatment were compared, and the effect of ADMA on the occurrence of long-term cardiovascular events and its predictive efficacy were analysed using the Spearman correlation test and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve. Results After treatment, the levels of serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, serum ADMA and blood pressure became significantly lower (p < 0.001), with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol exhibiting no significant difference. Twenty-two cases developed long-term cardiovascular events after the treatment, with an incidence of 13.92%. The occurrence group had significantly higher serum ADMA levels than the non-occurrence group (p < 0.001). The rosuvastatin treatment also lowered the levels of endothelin-1 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and increased the nitric oxide level (p < 0.001). Spearman correlation analysis showed that serum ADMA levels were positively correlated with the occurrence of long-term cardiovascular events (r=0.462, p < 0.001). Meanwhile, according to the ROC curve, serum ADMA had a good predictive efficacy for long-term cardiovascular events, with an area under the curve of 0.885 (95% confidence interval 0.808–0.963; p < 0.001). Conclusion Rosuvastatin can reduce ADMA levels and exert vascular protective effects. The increase in serum ADMA levels is closely related to the occurrence of long-term cardiovascular events in patients with hyperlipidaemia and H-type hypertension, serving as a potential clinical predictor to guide disease prevention and treatment.