[Clinical trial with sodium fluvastatin in patients with hypercholesterolemia associated with mild and moderate essential arterial hypertension].

High serum cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol level and high blood pressure are risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD risk factors usually occur simultaneously, fact that enhance personal and population CVD risk. Data from interventional studies suggest that reducing CAD risk factors significantly lowered risk of CAD. Fluvastatin, a statine, has been used in hypercholesterolemic populations. We report on a clinical trial (random selection) of fluvastatin vs. placebo on hipercholesterolemic patients (total cholesterol > or = 240 mg/dl and/or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) > or = 160 mg/dl) on treatment of mild to moderate high blood pressure. Forty Latin-American patients were randomized to placebo or 40 mg per day for 8 weeks of fluvastatin. Fluvastatin patients had a clinical and statistical significant reduction on total cholesterol (27.7%) and LDL-C (39.1%) Vs a non-significant reduction on the placebo group (6.9% total cholesterol and 9.1% LDL-C). One patient had elevated aspartate (AST) and alanine (ALT) aminotransferases (three times the local laboratory upper normal levels) associated with a chronic alcohol consumption, reverted 6 weeks after protocol completion. There was no important secondary effects; also there was no differences on this regard between placebo and verum group. Fluvastatin proved to be safe and well tolerated for this group of patients under a wide range of high blood pressure treatment.