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. 2001 Nov;86(5):533–539. doi: 10.1136/heart.86.5.533

Pravastatin and endothelium dependent vasomotion after coronary angioplasty: the PREFACE trial

H Mulder 1, M Schalij 1, B Kauer 1, R Visser 1, P R M van Dijkman 1, J Jukema 1, A Zwinderman 1, A Bruschke 1
PMCID: PMC1729982  PMID: 11602546

Abstract

OBJECTIVE—To test the hypothesis that the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme-A reductase inhibitor pravastatin ameliorates endothelium mediated responses of dilated coronary segments: the PREFACE (pravastatin related effects following angioplasty on coronary endothelium) trial.
DESIGN—A double blind, randomised, placebo controlled, multicentre study.
SETTING—Four hospitals in the Netherlands.
PATIENTS—63 non-smoking, non-hypercholesterolaemic patients scheduled for elective balloon angioplasty (pravastatin 34, placebo 29).
INTERVENTIONS—The effects of three months of pravastatin treatment (40 mg daily) on endothelium dependent vasomotor function were studied. Balloon angioplasty was undertaken one month after randomisation, and coronary vasomotor function tests using acetylcholine were performed two months after balloon angioplasty. The angiograms were analysed quantitatively.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES—The efficacy measure was the acetylcholine induced change in mean arterial diameter, determined in the dilated segment and in an angiographically normal segment of an adjacent non-manipulated coronary artery.
RESULTS—Increasing acetylcholine doses produced vasoconstriction in the dilated segments (p = 0.004) but not in the normal segments. Pravastatin did not affect the vascular response to acetylcholine in either the dilated segments (p = 0.09) or the non-dilated sites. Endothelium dependent vasomotion in normal segments was correlated with that in dilated segments (r = 0.47, p < 0.001). There were fewer procedure related events in the pravastatin group than in the placebo group (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS—Endothelium dependent vasomotion in normal segments is correlated with that in dilated segments. A significant beneficial effect of pravastatin on endothelial function could not be shown, but in the dilated segments there was a trend towards a beneficial treatment effect in the pravastatin group.


Keywords: angioplasty; endothelium; acetylcholine; pravastatin

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Figure 1  .

Figure 1  

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Examples of angiograms. (A) Example of an angiogram obtained after infusion of acetylcholine, in this case causing severe vasoconstriction. (B) The same coronary tree after infusion of glyceryl trinitrate. A, normal segment; B, dilated segment.

Figure 2  .

Figure 2  

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(A) Endothelium dependent vessel diameter changes in previously dilated coronary artery segments. There is an increase in vasoconstriction with infusion of higher concentrations of acetylcholine. There is no significant difference between the treatment groups. (B) Endothelium dependent vessel diameter changes in an angiographically normal segment. There is no significant increase in vasoconstriction with infusion of higher concentrations of acetylcholine. There is also no significant difference between the treatment groups. ach8/7/6, estimated intracoronary acetylcholine concentrations of 10−8, 10−7, and 10−6 M.

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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