Hypertension is an important public health problem worldwide. Subjects with hypertension are known to have a two-fold higher risk of developing coronary artery disease (CAD), four times higher risk of congestive heart failure and seven times higher risk of cerebrovascular disease and stroke compared to normotensive subjects. Hypertension has been identified as one of the leading risk factors for mortality, and is ranked third as a cause of disability adjusted life-years. Statins are unequivocally useful for lowering cholesterol levels in patients with dyslipidemias characterized by elevations in total and/or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The beneficial effects of statins to lower serum cholesterol translate into significant reductions in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In addition to lowering cholesterol levels, statins have other biological effects relevant to cardiovascular homeostasis including anti-inflammatory actions and down regulation of angiotensin type 1 receptor expression that contribute to improvements in endothelial function and arterial compliance. Since endothelial dysfunction and reduced arterial compliance are important pathophysiological determinants of essential hypertension, these actions of statins raise the possibility that statin therapy may be useful for simultaneously treating dyslipidemias and hypertension1-4. The present study was done to evaluate antihypertensive effect of rosuvastatin in normocholesterolemic hypertensive patients and its association with endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress marker.
