Rosuvastatin slows the development of diastolic dysfunction in calcific aortic stenosis

© Copyright by ICR Publishers 2012Background and aim of the study: The study aims were to test the effect of rosuvastatin on the progression of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function in patients with aortic stenosis (AS), and to evaluate the use of β-natriuretic-peptide (BNP) as a marker of diastolic dysfunction in this condition. Methods: Sixty-one hypercholesterolemic, consecutive new referrals with moderate AS were administered rosuvastatin (Crestor™) 20 mg/day for 18 months, while a further 60 subjects with normal cholesterol levels remained untreated. The LV diastolic function was determined using conventional Doppler echocardiography, tissue Doppler imaging (TDI); BNP plasma levels were monitored when subjects entered the study and then assessed prospectively at six-month intervals until the study end. Results: After an 18-month (mean 73 ± 24 weeks) period of treatment with rosuvastatin (Tx group), patients showed a significantly better diastolic function than untreated subjects (uTx group), as indicated by an isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT) (Tx 102.0 ± 42.8 versus 97.2 ± 19.1; p <0.001; uTx 99.7 ± 21.7 versus 95.2 ± 21.8 ms; p = 0.032), E/A ratio (Tx 1.0 ± 0.6 versus 0.9 ± 0.3, p = 0.52; uTx 1.2 ± 0.40 versus 0.9 ± 0.30 versus, p = 0.006), and E/E’ ratio (Tx 11.4 ± 1.5 versus 11.4 ± 1.8, p = 0.19; uTx 15.4 ± 1.2 versus 12.3 ± 1.5, p