Should All Hypertensive Patients Get a Statin?
A major turning point in the management of cholesterol abnormalities was the availability over 15 years ago of the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, often referred to as the statins. By and large, these drugs are well tolerated, convenient to take, and produce substantial reductions in blood levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

Clinical trials in patients at differing levels of cardiovascular risk have shown that the statins produce significant reductions in cardiovascular events and strokes that are roughly proportional to the reductions in LDL cholesterol. These benefits have occurred in hypercholesterolemic patients regardless of whether they already have had a cardiovascular event (secondary prevention) or whether they have not yet had an event (primary prevention).