Objectives: This study was aimed to analyze the effects of atorvastatin and rosuvastatin and different lipid-lowering intensity treatments on exercise tolerance in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).
Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted in 549 patients with CHD who underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) from February 2014 to August 2018. The CPET results of patients taking different types and doses of statins were compared from baseline to follow-up.
Results: No significant difference was found in baseline VO2peak between the rosuvastatin group and the atorvastatin group. The VO2peak growth of the rosuvastatin group was significantly greater than that of the atorvastatin group after treatment [1.52 ± 4.03 ml/kg/min vs 0.90 ml/kg/min (-1.60, 3.45), p = 0.018]. Multivariate analysis showed that atorvastatin was a negative independent influencing factor of ΔVO2peak (B = -0.665, SE = 0.321, t = -2.070, p = 0.039, 95% CI: - 1.295~-0.034). There was no significant difference between the median intensity and high-intensity lipid-lowering groups in parameters of CPET.
Conclusions: The exercise tolerance improvement was more considerable for patients with CHD taking rosuvastatin compared with those taking atorvastatin. The lipid-lowering intensity of statins was not independently associated with changes in exercise tolerance in patients with CHD.
Keywords: Coronary heart disease; cardiopulmonary exercise testing; exercise tolerance; statin.