| Who should not take Atorvastatin tablets? The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptic Here are the facts! Click on the blue arrows if you want the scientific evidence! Evidence from the new cholesterol-lowering trial PROSPER, that statin treatment causes cancer. The following Information is intended to supplement, not substitute for, the expertise and judgment of your physician, pharmacist or other healthcare professional. It should not be construed to indicate that use of the drug is safe, appropriate, or effective for you. If you take Atorvastatin with certain other medicines, they may affect one another. Atorvastatin may interact with certain other cholesterol-lowering drugs, some antibiotics, and antifungal medications. It may also interact with less-frequently prescribed medications as immunosuppressives (given after transplants). Be sure to tell your doctor or pharmacist about all prescription and nonprescription drugs you are taking. Atorvastatin is a very effective medicine for lowering high LDL cholesterol—the main target of cholesterol-lowering therapy. Your doctor will determine how much your LDL cholesterol needs to be lowered, based on your overall risk of heart disease. Atorvastatin also effectively lowers high blood-triglyceride levels. A high blood cholesterol is said to promote atherosclerosis and thus also coronary heart disease. But many studies have shown that people whose blood cholesterol is low become just as atherosclerotic as people whose cholesterol is high. Atorvastatin is used with diet changes (restriction of cholesterol and fat intake) to reduce the amount of cholesterol and certain fatty substances in your blood. Accumulation of cholesterol and fats along the walls of your arteries (a process known as atherosclerosis) decreases blood flow and, therefore, the Atorvastatin works by blocking an enzyme in the liver that your body uses to make cholesterol. When less cholesterol is produced, the liver takes up more cholesterol from the bloodstream. This results in lower levels of cholesterol circulating in your blood. In medical studies of people with high cholesterol, Atorvastatin, taken once a day, had the following effects at doses of 10 to 80 mg: Lowered total cholesterol by 29-45%. Lowered LDL cholesterol, the "bad" cholesterol, by 39-60%. Increased HDL cholesterol, the "good" cholesterol, by 5-9%. Lowered triglyceride levels by 19-37%. Some people should not take Atorvastatin. Those with active liver disease or possible liver problems; women who are pregnant, could possibly become pregnant, or are breast-feeding; and people who are allergic to any of the ingredients in LIPITOR. The new cholesterol-lowering drugs, the statins, do prevent cardio-vascular disease, but this is due to other mechanisms than cholesterol-lowering. Unfortunately, they also stimulate cancer in rodents. Some people should not take Atorvastatin. Those with active liver disease or possible liver problems; women who are pregnant, could possibly become pregnant, or are breast-feeding; and people who are allergic to any of the ingredients in LIPITOR. There is no evidence that too much animal fat and cholesterol in the diet promotes atherosclerosis or heart attacks. For instance, more than twenty studies have shown that people who have had a heart attack haven't eaten more fat of any kind than other people, and degree of atherosclerosis at autopsy is unrelated with the diet. |