Taking atorvastatin every day for 6 weeks can lower 'bad' cholesterol by up to 60% in people with high cholesterol, and the higher the dose, the more it drops.

Pro

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Community contributions welcome

Reduction of LDL cholesterol by 25% to 60% in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia by atorvastatin, a new HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor.

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

1995 May

Contradicting (0)

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Reduction of LDL cholesterol by 25% to 60% in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia by atorvastatin, a new HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor.

Score: 57

DOI: 10.1161/01.ATV.15.5.678

Similar Assertions

This new statin, atorvastatin, lowers bad cholesterol more than older statins have been shown to in past studies.

87%

Atorvastatin doesn’t just lower bad cholesterol — it also lowers overall cholesterol and a key protein linked to heart disease, and higher doses make these effects stronger.

81%

If you're on cholesterol medicine and have a heart procedure coming up, taking extra atorvastatin before the procedure might cut your risk of serious heart problems in the next month — especially if your heart condition was unstable.

77%

Statins are drugs that lower cholesterol by blocking a key enzyme in the liver, and doctors use them to help prevent heart disease — but they can cause side effects that might be worse than the benefits for some people.

75%

Statins, a type of medicine that started with a scientist finding something in fungi, help prevent heart problems in people at high risk by lowering bad cholesterol in their blood.

73%