[Effects of lovastatin therapy on the level of low density lipoproteins and atherogenic potential of serum in patients with ischemic heart disease and hypercholesterolemia].

The serum atherogenic potential in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) concurrent with hypercholesterolemia (LDL cholesterol more than 200 mg/dl), which is able to cause accumulation of intracellular cholesterol in cultured cells has been recently shown to be directly related to the level of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. The study was undertaken to examine how a lovastatin-induced decrease in LDL levels affects serum atherogenicity in patients with CHD and hypercholesterolemia. It was shown that the therapy of 22 patients with CHD and hypercholesterolemia led to a reduction in total and LDL cholesterol levels on an average by 24% and 32%, respectively. There were 3- and 1.5-2-fold decreases in circulatory immune complexes and the atherogenic potential, respectively. The findings suggest that the significant reduction in serum LDL cholesterol levels in patients with CHD concurrent with hypercholesterolemia who take hypolipidemic therapy is followed by a decrease in the atherogenic potential.