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Efficacy of metoprolol plus atorvastatin for carotid atherosclerosis and its influence on carotid intima-media thickness and homocysteine level.

OBJECTIVE
To analyze the effects of metoprolol (MET) plus atorvastatin (ATO) on carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and homocysteine (Hcy) level in carotid atherosclerosis (CAS) patients.


METHODS
In this retrospective study, 90 patients with CAS admitted to the Hangzhou Ninth People's Hospital between January 2019 and July 2021 were enrolled, including 40 cases (control group, the Con) treated with MET and 50 cases treated with the combination therapy of MET plus ATO (Research group, the Res). The efficacy and related influencing factors were observed and compared. The clinical effects (IMT, plaque score), Hcy level, inflammatory cytokines (ICs; matrix metalloproteinase-9 [MMP-9], high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP]), blood lipid indices (low-/high- density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C/HDL-C], total cholesterol [TC], triglyceride [TG]) and coagulation markers (thrombin time [TT], prothrombin time [PT], activated partial thromboplastin time [APTT], fibrinogen [FIB]) of the two groups were observed and compared.


RESULTS
The results identified a statistically higher overall response rate in the Res group. Age, coronary heart disease, cerebral infarction and plaque score were confirmed to be closely related to the efficacy of CAS. In addition, statistically lower post-treatment IMT, plaque score, MMP-9, hs-CRP, LDL-C, TG, TC and FIB while higher PT, TT and APTT were determined in the Res group compared with the pre-treatment values and the Con group.


CONCLUSIONS
MET plus ATO can significantly improve efficacy, reduce IMT and plaque score of patients with CAS, as well as improve inflammatory factors, blood lipid indices and coagulation markers, for which it deserves clinical promotion.