Cardioprotective effects of low-dose combination therapy with a statin and an angiotensin receptor blocker in a rat myocardial infarction model

SummaryPurposeStatins attenuate angiotensin II-induced myocyte hypertrophy and this might increase the cardioprotective effects of renin–angiotensin system inhibition in the ischemic heart. In this study, we investigated the cardioprotective effects of combination therapy with low-dose simvastatin and low-dose losartan using a rat myocardial infarction model.MethodsMyocardial infarction was created in rats by left anterior descending artery ligation, and the animals were randomly allocated to one of four groups: control (n=8), losartan 3mg/kg/day (n=8), simvastatin 2mg/kg/day (n=8), and losartan 3mg/kg/day plus simvastatin 2mg/kg/day (n=8). Each treatment was started on the day of coronary ligation, and hemodynamics, myocardial blood flow, and infarct size were measured after 28 days.ResultsBlood pressure, heart rate, and left ventricular systolic and end-diastolic pressures were not significantly different comparing the control group with the 3 other treatment groups. The peak positive first derivative of left ventricular pressure (peak LV dP/dt) was equivalent comparing the control group with the losartan and simvastatin groups. However, the peak LV dP/dt was greater in the losartan plus simvastatin group than in the control group (p