lipitor, diastolic bp and Coq10

[jjs50]

Ever since I began to take Lipitor 3 years ago, I have watched my cholesterol fall to a perfect level.  In the meantime, I have also watched my diastolic BP increase to the point that it is constantly in the upper 90s.  Systolic BP is great and is pulse.  I am in great physical condition, too.  

Can Lipitor cause this excessivley high diastolic reading?  Is it caused by Lipitor's ability to decrease the CoQ10 levels?  

I have tried all BPs calssed of drugs: thiazides, Calcium Channel blockers, ACE inhibitors, ARBs, renin inhibitors, etc., but none of them, even in combinations, seems to affect it.  HELP???

[jjs50]

I've taken ACE inhibitors, ARBs, calcium channel blockers, and now the renin inhibitor and diuretic.  Should I still take the thiazide diuretic and renin inhibitor?

[Barbarella]

You said that "you tried all kinds of different BP meds but none of them helped", did your doctor switch you to something else to see if it helps?

I never took Lipitor, but take Zocor for the last 4 1/2 yrs which is also a statin, it never effected my BP. Below is the info I found on the May Clinic's website when I tried to find out if a statin can cause your diastolic BP to go up.  


The numeric difference between your systolic and diastolic blood pressure is called your pulse pressure. For example, if your resting blood pressure is 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), your pulse pressure is 40 — the difference between 120 and 80.

Certain conditions can increase your pulse pressure. These include aortic valve disorders, severe anemia and overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism). But by far the most important cause of elevated pulse pressure is stiffness and reduced elasticity of the aorta, the largest artery in the body. This may be due to high blood pressure or fatty deposits on the walls of the arteries (atherosclerosis). The greater the difference between your systolic and diastolic numbers, the stiffer and more damaged the vessels are thought to be.

Evidence suggests that pulse pressure may be a strong predictor of heart problems, especially in older adults. But systolic pressure is the best predictor in people older than age 55. In adults older than age 60, a pulse pressure greater than 60 mmHg is abnormal. Treating high blood pressure usually reduces pulse pressure as well.

[jjs50]

Should I still take the thiazide diuretic and renin inhibitor?

[kenkeith]

A normal diastolic number reads as 80-90 mmHG.  If a person shows in three or more consecutive blood pressure measurements, a diastolic reading more than 90, it is clearly a state of abnormal diastolic pressure. The person is suffering from hypertension or high blood pressure. Such situation should be immediately reported to a doctor.

For, it is a precursor to a variety of diseases like strokes and heart failure. So do not ignore your abnormal blood pressure at any cost.

Having said the above I believe you have an athlete's heart and that the anatomical  condition has some similarity to pathological hypertrophy in that heart muscle walls are enlarged and it requires a differentiated diagnoses to distinquish the difference.  An athlete's heart is not pathological and that is the major difference, but an athlete's heart enlarges (more muscle) and some chamber stiffness (less elasticity) and stronger contractions as a result.

Chamber stiffness can be quantified by an examination of the relationship between diastolic pressure and volume.  Diastolic pressure can be changed either by a volume dependant change in operating stiffness or by a volume independant change in chamber stiffness...operating stiffness changes throughout filling, stiffness is less at smaller volumes and highest at larger volumes.  Athlete's heart has a normally slow heart rate and that increases volume as well as stronger contractions.  So those are additional factors to be considered as well.

Based on your posts your chronological is 50, but you are physically fit so you may have a healthy heart of a 30 y/o, and an isolated high diastolic pressure may not be problematic as stated in my previous post.  

However, an echocardiogram would be conclusive.  A thyroid problem would include fatigue, heart rate irregularity, etc.  You can rule that out as a problem, but if you don't have any symptoms the probability is high there is no heart problem!

[jjs50]

Thanks for the info.  I am a 50 year old male.  BP averages 125/95 with a pulse of 50.  I also run at least 30 miles a week, and swim and bike as well.  No other health problems ever.  The inverted risk you mention above, in which the the higher the diastolic, the lower the cardiovascular risk, could that be caused by my 35 years of running?  Could a high diastolic,  signifying a lower pulse pressure and lower risk, cause such a thing?  Could, then, we be overracting to the high diastolic reading and think there is a hypertensive issue?

If the issue is related to thyroid, what other symproms might appear?  

[kenkeith]

For a perspective most of the cardiovascular risk of high blood pressure comes from the systolic pressure.  I don't know your age but In people over age 50, the diastolic loses the association with risk, and the risk may even become inverted, i.e., the higher the diastolic, the lower the cardiovascular risk.  This is due to the fact that a high pulse pressure (the difference between systolic and diastolic) is a marker for arterial stiffness and risk for heart disease and stroke.  A high diastolic signifies a lower pulse pressure and lower risk.  This information caught my attention as more than occasionally  I have a high pulse rate. Evidence suggests that pulse pressure may be a strong predictor of heart problems, especially in older adults. But systolic pressure is the best predictor in people older than age 55. In adults older than age 60, a pulse pressure greater than 60 mmHg is abnormal. Treating high blood pressure usually reduces pulse pressure as well.  Apparently, you have a good pulse pressure!


In people under age 50, the situation is less clear for isolated high diastolic.  Younger people have good arterial elasticity, and a high diastolic is associated with some cardiovascular risk.  The risk is small, however, and a diastolic under 85 does not require treatment.  

You may want to check on your thyroid as there is an association between hypothyroidism (a loss of function of the thyroid gland) and high diastolic blood pressure.  In that case, treatment with thyroid hormone reduces the diastolic pressure back to normal.  

The numeric difference between your systolic and diastolic blood pressure is called your pulse pressure. For example, if your resting blood pressure is 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), your pulse pressure is 40 — the difference between 120 and 80.

Certain conditions can increase your pulse pressure. These include aortic valve disorders, severe anemia and overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism). But by far the most important cause of elevated pulse pressure is stiffness and reduced elasticity of the aorta, the largest artery in the body. This may be due to high blood pressure or fatty deposits on the walls of the arteries (atherosclerosis). The greater the difference between your systolic and diastolic numbers, the stiffer and more damaged the vessels are thought to be.

Evidence suggests that pulse pressure may be a strong predictor of heart problems, especially in older adults. But systolic pressure is the best predictor in people older than age 55. In adults older than age 60, a pulse pressure greater than 60 mmHg is abnormal. Treating high blood pressure usually reduces pulse pressure as well.