The effect of atorvastatin on platelet function in patients with coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND: Lipid-lowering therapy was shown to have several beneficial effects in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). AIM: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of atorvastatin on platelet aggregation in patients with CAD. METHODS: Twenty-five hypercholesterolaemic patients who had angiographically proven CAD and 16 normal subjects were enrolled. All patients received 10 mg/day atorvastatin for two months. Anti-platelet agents were discontinued 15 days prior to blood sampling at the beginning and at the end of the atorvastatin therapy. Aggregometric curves of the platelets in response to ADP, collagen and epinephrine were obtained using the aggregometry (turbidimetric) technique. RESULTS: In patients with CAD, total cholesterol (TC) and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) basal levels were measured (230 +/- 49 mg/dl, 140 +/- 41 mg/dl, respectively). Following lipid-lowering therapy, TC and LDL-C decreased significantly (p < 0.05). The activation measurements of aggregometric curves decreased significantly compared with basal parameters in response to ADP but not in response to collagen and epinephrine. CONCLUSION: Lipid-lowering therapy with the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, atorvastatin, had a marked reduction effect on platelet aggregation.