The effect of losartan on the intima-media thickness of carotid artery

Objective: There are findings about negative effects of angiotensin 1 (AT1) receptor stimulation at every stage of atherosclerosis formation. Recently, AT1 receptors, especially the effects of AT1 receptor antagonists on the regression of atherosclerosis, are being researched intensively. Measurement of carotid artery thickness has been accepted as a marker of atherosclerosis. In our study, we investigated the effect of AT1 receptor antagonist, losartan, on the carotid artery intima-media thickness of newly diagnosed hypertensive patients.
Methods: We reached to 450 individuals by the stratified and random sampling method and measured their blood pressure to find out undiagnosed hypertensive patients. Fifty-one patients (mean age 54±9 years) were accepted to participate in our study. Forty-nine of them (33 women and 16 men) completed the study. After the measurements of the carotid artery intima-media thicknesses by B-mode Doppler ultrasonography, their blood tests were performed and arterial blood pressures were measured. Soon after, treatment with losartan as an antihypertensive agent was begun. All measurements were repeated on the eighth month of this therapy.
Results: The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the cases were 167±14 mmHg and 102±8 mmHg, respectively. At the end of the eighth month these measurements regressed to 139±11 mmHg and 84±8 mmHg, respectively (p<0.05). Meaningful regression of carotid artery intima-media thickness was established. The mean regression was 0.10±0.19 mm (p=0.004) for women, 0.18±0.29 mm (p=0.007) for men and 0.13±0.23 mm (p<0.001) for the study population. No relation was seen between the carotid artery intima-media thickness and first systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements of the patients (r=0.122, p=0.403 and r=0.032, p=0.828, respectively).
Conclusion: We think that losartan should be recommended to use for protection against atherosclerosis at the young aged individuals that have multiple risks for atherosclerosis, other than hypertension.