What is the safest statin to take?

Simvastatin and pravastatin had the best safety profile, according to this review. Overall, the researchers found a 9 percent increased risk of type 2 diabetes in people taking statins.
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Which cholesterol drug is safest?

Fortunately, most side effects are mild and disappear promptly when the statin is stopped. In some cases, the problems will resolve simply by reducing the dose or switching to another statin, but care is required. Still, all in all, the statins are the safest and best tolerated of all cholesterol-lowering medications.
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What is the best statin drug on the market?

Statins lower cholesterol levels through inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase. The synthetic and natural statins have essentially equivalent efficacy at improving the lipid profile. However, in patients who do not achieve their LDL goals, atorvastatin and simvastatin may be the best choices for initial therapy.
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Which statin is best tolerated?

Among individual statins, simvastatin and pravastatin seem safer and more tolerable than other statins.
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Which statin has the lowest risk of drug interactions?

As fluvastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin are primarily metabolized by CYP2C9, they are less subject to drug interaction than other statins.
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Statin Misinformation: Mayo Clinic Radio



What can I take instead of statins to lower cholesterol?

7 cholesterol-lowering alternatives to statins
  • Fibrates. Mostly used for lowering triglyceride levels in patients whose levels are very high and could cause pancreatitis. ...
  • Plant stanols and sterols. ...
  • Cholestyramine and other bile acid-binding resins. ...
  • Niacin. ...
  • Policosanol. ...
  • Red yeast rice extract (RYRE) ...
  • Natural products.
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Which is safer atorvastatin or rosuvastatin?

Atorvastatin was the safest statin as it resulted in the least number of patients at the end of 2 years of treatment with the new onset of microalbuminuria (10.9%) followed by rosuvastatin (14.3%) and then pravastatin (26.6%). Number of patients with no microalbuminuria at baseline but developed it after 2 years.
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What is the first drug of choice for cholesterol?

Statins. What they are: These are usually the first type of drug that doctors prescribe to lower LDL. They also lower triglycerides, which are another type of blood fat, and mildly raise your "good" (HDL) cholesterol.
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Is Crestor or Lipitor better?

Both Lipitor and Crestor are excellent medications to help improve high cholesterol and to decrease your risk of heart attacks and strokes. In studies, Crestor was more effective at lowering total cholesterol levels and raising HDL levels (Jones, 2003).
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Is simvastatin safer than atorvastatin?

However, atorvastatin is considered a more potent drug than simvastatin. In one recent comparative study, atorvastatin was found to be more effective at lowering LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) than simvastatin.
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Which statin is safest for liver?

Although statins are generally well tolerated, reports about statin-induced liver injury can be found mainly for atorvastatin and simvastatin. However, this might be coincidental since these two statins are also the two most commonly prescribed ones (8).
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Is there an alternative to statins?

There are many non-statin medications your doctor might prescribe: Bile acid-binding resins, like cholestyramine (Locholest, Prevalite, Questran), colesevelam (WelChol), and colestipol (Colestid) stick to cholesterol-rich bile acids in your intestines and lower your LDL levels.
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What is the best statin for the elderly?

Atorvastatin or fluvastatin are usually recommended because there is no need to adjust the dose according to the glomerular filtration rate [28]. In patients without diagnosed atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, it is indicated a moderate dose of statin, such as atorvastatin 20 mg daily [28].
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Why was Crestor taken off the market?

As you are aware, on March 4th of this year, we petitioned the FDA to ban the recently-marketed cholesterol-lowering drug rosuvastatin (Crestor/AstraZeneca) because of seven post-marketing cases of life-threatening rhabdomyolysis and nine cases of renal failure or renal insufficiency, both of which problems had also ...
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What is the best natural alternative to statins?

Natural Alternatives to Statins: Foods That Help Lower Cholesterol
  • Foods high in soluble fiber and plant phytosterols, such as legumes, avocados, broccoli and other fruits and vegetables.
  • Whole grains, including oatmeal, quinoa and barley.
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Do cardiologists take statins?

What a Cardiologist Wants You to Know. About 35 million people take statins in the United States, but research says only 55% of those who are recommended to take a statin are taking one.
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Is rosuvastatin as good as Crestor?

Rosuvastatin (Crestor) is a highly effective statin medication. It is used to improve cholesterol levels, lower triglycerides, and to protect the heart and blood vessels. It is also used for people who are at higher risk of heart disease (such as those with diabetes) even though they may have normal cholesterol levels.
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Which statin is least likely to cause muscle pain?

Is muscle pain a side effect of all statins? Even though all statins are similar chemically, they have some minor differences that could impact how likely they are to cause muscle pain. Simvastatin is the most likely to cause muscle pain, and fluvastatin is the least likely.
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Is rosuvastatin the best statin?

Conclusion: Rosuvastatin was more effective than other statins in reducing LDL, triglyceride (except vs atorvastatin), and total cholesterol levels. Significantly more patients taking rosuvastatin than patients taking other statins attained their LDL goals.
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What are the top 5 cholesterol medications?

What is this medication?
  • Atorvastatin (Lipitor®)
  • Fluvastatin (Lescol. ®)
  • Lovastatin (Mevacor®)
  • Pravastatin (Pravachol®)
  • Rosuvastatin (Crestor®)
  • Simvastatin (Zocor®)
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What is the best supplement for lowering cholesterol?

Niacin. Niacin is a B vitamin. Doctors sometimes suggest it for patients with high cholesterol or heart concerns. It increases the level of good cholesterol and reduces triglycerides, another fat that can clog arteries.
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Can you stop taking statins Once you start?

Do not suddenly stop taking your prescribed medication without talking with your doctor first. If you have side effects from the medication, your doctor might adjust your dosage or recommend a different statin or other combination of medications.
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Why is Crestor better than other statins?

Crestor is the more potent cholesterol-lowering drug, and it's also newer than Zocor. Both simvastatin and rosuvastatin have similar side effects, including headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and muscle pain. Rarely, both drugs may cause liver, muscle, and kidney damage.
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How do I choose the right statin?

The guidelines also help doctors choose the right statin at the right dose. For example, someone with a history of heart disease may need a high-intensity statin such as atorvastatin (Lipitor), while someone with a lower risk could take a low-intensity statin, such as pravastatin (Pravachol).
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Which statin has least myopathy?

Fluvastatin was associated with the lowest risk of muscular symptoms (OR 0.33, 95% CI: 0.26 to 0.42). Most recently, Naci et al conducted a meta-analysis evaluating the comparative tolerability of statins.
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