Anti-inflammatory effects of simvastatin in patients with chronic heart failure.

Proinflammatory markers were evaluated in patients with chronic heart failure of ischemic origin and essential hypertension with preserved left-ventricular ejection fraction before and after a 6-month course of simvastatin therapy (20 mg/day). The study was carried out in 125 patients with diastolic dysfunction manifested as impaired relaxation and pseudonormalization. The main group received standard therapy for chronic heart failure and simvastatin, controls received only standard therapy. In addition, the results in the main group were compared in patients with different types of left-ventricular diastolic dysfunction. Simvastatin therapy significantly reduced the levels of C-reactive protein and IL-6.