Figure 2.

Atorvastatin use is associated with an increase in agonist-induced, NOS-dependent forearm blood flow. Vasodilatory responses to brachial artery infusions of acetylcholine (ACh, 30 μg/min) and the NOS inhibitor L-NG-monomethylarginine (L-NMMA, 8 μmoL/min) were measured by venous occlusion strain gauge plethysmography before and after four weeks of atorvastatin administration. Prior to atorvastatin administration (white bars), the L-NMMA-sensitive fraction of ACh response was negligible, but after atorvastatin treatment response was statistically significant, expressed in absolute forearm blood flow (A), or as percentage change in blood flow (B). The amount of acetylcholine-induced, NOS-dependent blood flow calculated for each subject is significantly increased after atorvastatin treatment (C). Bars indicate means, and error bars indicate standard error of the mean. Significance was tested by paired t-test.