Effect of mild endurance exercise training and pravastatin on peripheral vasodilatation of forearm resistance vessels in patients with coronary artery disease

Background Improved endothelial function may contribute to the beneficial effects of cholesterol lowering therapy in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), but results of the effect of statin therapy on endothelial function are disparate in these patients. Exercise training has been reported to improve endothelial function of patients at risk of or with established CAD. The goal of the study was to compare the effect of mild exercise training or statin therapy on forearm endothelial function in CAD patients with average cholesterol levels. Design and methods Twenty-eight sedentary male patients with angiographically documented CAD and average pretreatment total plasma cholesterol levels (5.1 +/- 0.9 mmol/l) aged 42-75 years were included. They were randomly assigned in a 2:1 order to either statin therapy (pravastatin, 40mg daily) or exercise training therapy (mild endurance exercise three or more times a week). The effects of 10 weeks of either treatment on endothelium-dependent and independent vasodilation of forearm resistance vessels was assessed by plethysmography. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing was performed at baseline and after 10 weeks. Results Ten weeks of pravastatin therapy significantly reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (from 3.8 +/- 0.6 to 3.1 +/- 0.6 mmol/l at study end, P= 0.04) and the ratio of total to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (from 4.9 +/- 0.8 to 3.7 +/- 0.7mmol/l, P=0.002). Exercise training did not significantly modify the lipid profile. Peak oxygen consumption, maximal achieved workload and exercise duration tended to improve in the exercise training group but remained unchanged in the pravastatin-treated group. Neither 10 weeks of pravastatin nor mild endurance exercise training improved endothelial-dependent or independent vasomotor function in forearm resistance vessels. Conclusions In patients with CAD and average cholesterol levels, 10 weeks of treatment with mild endurance exercise training or with pravastatin failed to improve endothelium-dependent or independent vasomotor function in forearm resistance vessels.