Klin Farmakol Farm. 2016;30(2):38-45 | DOI: 10.36290/far.2016.018

Hypolipidemic drugs and their effect on endothelial function: a review of results of clinical trials

Lukáš Dobiaš, Monika Laššánová, Viera Kristová

Ústav farmakológie a klinickej farmakológie, Lekárska fakulta, Univerzita Komenského, Bratislava

Endothelial dysfunction, the term commonly describing the impairment in its vasodilatory capacity, is the first stage of athero-

sclerosis which can be detected before the first morphological changes of vessels occur. It is a good predictor of cardiovascular

events, independent of the presence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Despite this, its use has not reached

widespread clinical acceptance. Endothelial dysfunction is present in patients with various types of dyslipidemia and there

is a growing body of evidence that it can be reversed by various pharmacological approaches. Many hypolipidemics have

been described to exert endothelium-protective effects independent of their lipid-lowering properties, which is indicative

of the lowering of cardiovascular risk in dyslipidemic patients. This review article aims to discuss endothelial dysfunction, its

pathophysiology, as well as hypolipidemics with a potential to reverse endothelial dysfunction and potential mechanisms

of their endothelium-protective effects.

Keywords: endothelial dysfunction, hypolipidemics, flow-mediated dilation (FMD), statins, ezetimibe, fibrates

Published: September 19, 2016  Show citation