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THE PHARMACY
Drug Lesson #3: Atorvastatin
Welcome to the third drug lesson in this series! I am trying to cover some of the most common medications used in clinical practice, and this drug is no exception. In 2015–2016, more than 12% of adults age 20 and older had total cholesterol higher than 240 mg/dL, and more than 18% had high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or “good”) cholesterol levels less than 40 mg/dL.1
Millions of people have high cholesterol, and many of them do not experience any symptoms. High cholesterol for a long period of time increases the risk of heart disease, heart attacks, and death. The drug I am talking about today does an incredible job in controlling cholesterol and preventing heart-related morbidities.
What is atorvastatin?
Medications like atorvastatin target an enzyme named HMG-CoA reductase. HMG-CoA reductase is involved in the biosynthesis of cholesterol. By inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, atorvastatin inhibits cholesterol production and lowers cholesterol levels in the body.
Atorvastatin belongs to a class of drugs called statins. All medications in this class work the same to decrease overall cholesterol…
