A new pill lowers bad cholesterol without side effects
Reduction of LDL cholesterol by 25% to 60% in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia by atorvastatin, a new HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
LDL reductions of 25–61% with a single drug, matching what previously required combination therapy.
Doctors used to think you needed two or more cholesterol drugs to get LDL down this far—this study says one pill can do it alone.
Practical Takeaways
If you have high cholesterol, ask your doctor if atorvastatin might offer stronger LDL reduction than your current statin.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
LDL reductions of 25–61% with a single drug, matching what previously required combination therapy.
Doctors used to think you needed two or more cholesterol drugs to get LDL down this far—this study says one pill can do it alone.
Practical Takeaways
If you have high cholesterol, ask your doctor if atorvastatin might offer stronger LDL reduction than your current statin.
Publication
Journal
Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology
Year
1995
Authors
J. W. Nawrocki, S. Weiss, M. H. Davidson, D. Sprecher, S. Schwartz, P. Lupien, P. Jones, H. Haber, D. Black
Related Content
Claims (5)
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.
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.
Inhibition of hepatic HMG-CoA reductase reduces circulating LDL cholesterol by decreasing endogenous cholesterol synthesis and upregulating hepatic LDL receptor expression.
This new statin, atorvastatin, lowers bad cholesterol more than older statins have been shown to in past studies.
In this short study, atorvastatin didn’t cause serious side effects in people with high cholesterol, making it safe enough to consider for treatment.