Effect of Combined Statin and Antihypertensive Therapy in Patients with Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction: This meta-analysis aimed to explore the preventive effects of combined statin and antihypertensive therapy on major cardiovascular outcomes in patients with hypertension. Methods: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases and reference lists of published studies were systematically searched throughout October 9, 2019. Studies designed as randomized controlled trials and investigating the effects of combined statin and antihypertensive therapy versus antihypertensive therapy alone were included. Data abstraction and quality of included studies were assessed by 2 independent authors. The summary results were calculated using relative risks (RRs) with 95% CIs employing a random-effects model. Results: A total of 8 randomized controlled trials including 38,618 patients were finally enrolled. The summary RRs indicated that the combined therapy significantly reduced the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events compared with antihypertensive therapy alone (RR 0.79; 95% CI 0.71–0.88; p < 0.001). Furthermore, the patients in the combined therapy group also experienced less myocardial infarction (RR 0.67; 95% CI 0.53–0.84; p = 0.001) and stroke risks (RR 0.82; 95% CI 0.72–0.94; p = 0.005), while no significant difference was observed between combined therapy and antihypertensive therapy alone regarding cardiac death (RR 0.96; 95% CI 0.84–1.08; p = 0.465) and all-cause mortality (RR 0.95; 95% CI 0.86–1.04; p = 0.277). Conclusion: These findings suggested that combined statin and antihypertensive therapy was associated with more cardiovascular benefits compared with antihypertensive therapy alone.