Atorvastatin is an oral drug that lowers the level of cholesterol in the blood. It belongs to a class of drugs referred to as statins, which includes Lovastatin (Mevacor), Simvastatin, (Zocor), Fluvastatin (Lescol), and Pravastatin (Pravachol).
The drug works by helping to clear harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol out of the blood and by limiting the body's ability to form new LDL cholesterol.
Your doctor may prescribe it along with a special diet if your blood cholesterol or triglyceride level is high enough to put you in danger of heart disease, and you have been unable to lower your readings by diet alone.
For people at high risk of heart disease, the doctor may suggest a cholesterol-lowering medication if LDL readings are 130 or more. For those at low risk, a medication is considered at readings of 190 or more.
Accumulation of cholesterol and fats along the walls of arteries (a process known as atherosclerosis) decreases blood flow and, therefore, the oxygen supply to the heart, brain, and other parts of the body. Lowering the blood level of cholesterol and fats may help to prevent heart disease, angina (chest pain), strokes, and heart attacks.
What is Atorvastatin and why is it prescribed?
Atorvastatin is an oral drug that lowers the level of cholesterol in the blood. It belongs to a class of drugs referred to as statins, which includes Lovastatin (Mevacor), Simvastatin, (Zocor), Fluvastatin (Lescol), and Pravastatin (Pravachol).
The drug works by helping to clear harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol out of the blood and by limiting the body's ability to form new LDL cholesterol.
Your doctor may prescribe it along with a special diet if your blood cholesterol or triglyceride level is high enough to put you in danger of heart disease, and you have been unable to lower your readings by diet alone.
For people at high risk of heart disease, the doctor may suggest a cholesterol-lowering medication if LDL readings are 130 or more. For those at low risk, a medication is considered at readings of 190 or more.
How does Atorvastatin work?
Accumulation of cholesterol and fats along the walls of arteries (a process known as atherosclerosis) decreases blood flow and, therefore, the oxygen supply to the heart, brain, and other parts of the body. Lowering the blood level of cholesterol and fats may help to prevent heart disease, angina (chest pain), strokes, and heart attacks.
Like all statins, Atorvastatin blocks an enzyme in the liver called HMG-CoA Reductase, an enzyme that is necessary to make cholesterol.
When atorvastatin blocks this enzyme, less cholesterol is made, and the liver is more sensitive to remove cholesterol from the blood thus lowering total blood cholesterol levels as well as LDL cholesterol levels. (LDL cholesterol is believed to be the "bad" cholesterol that is primarily responsible for the development of coronary artery disease.) Lowering LDL cholesterol levels retards progression and may even reverse coronary artery disease.
Unlike the other drugs in this class, atorvastatin also can reduce the concentration of triglycerides in the blood. High blood concentrations of triglycerides also have been associated with coronary artery disease.
