Brand Names:
Atorvastatin, Caduet (atorvastatin-amlodipine)
What is it?
Atorvastatin lowers cholesterol. More importantly it lowers the worst part of your cholesterol (LDL). You can remember that LDL is bad by by pretending "L" stands for lethal. Your LDL should ideally be below 130. Atorvastatin also lowers the triglyceride part of your cholesterol. Click Here for more info on the parts of your cholesterol
What’s In It For Me?
LDL and triglycerides are two important factors that cause clogging of your arteries. This can lead to chest pain and heart attacks. It also can make a stroke more likely. Lowering these with atorvastatin reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Click here to calculate your actual risk and scroll down to find the benefits and risks of atorvastatin . (close the calculator window to come back here.
The Good
Atorvastatin is very good at lowering cholesterol and LDL cholesterol specifically. More importantly, studies have confirmed that atorvastatin lowers the risk of heart attacks and death, especially in people who have had evidence of clogging of the arteries, such as Angina (chest pain) or previous heart attack.
The Bad
Like all medications, atorvastatin can have side effects. The most common is muscle pain, although it occurs in less than 10% of patients. The muscle pain can worsen into muscle damage and broken down muscle can then damage your kidneys, but this is very rare. Finally, there is a tiny chance that it can damage your liver, but this problem is so rare, you are more likely to be struck by lightning on the way to the pharmacy.
The Controversial
The challenge is to decide who really needs their cholesterol treated. Cholesterol is only one of many things that can increase your heart attack risk. Fifty percent of people with heart attacks have normal cholesterol. The higher the total cholesterol and the lower the HDL, and the more other risks you have, the more important it is to take atorvastatin . To calculate your risk (if you don’t have diabetes or a history of heart trouble) Click here (close the calculator window to come back)
Fact Boxes
Low to Moderate Risk People
| Framingham estimated 10 year heart attack risk |
Estimated risk if you take atorvastatin |
|---|---|
|
20% |
14% |
|
15% |
10% |
|
10% |
7% |
|
7% |
5% |
|
4% |
3-4% |
If you have diabetes, your risk is thought to be at least 20% risk in the next 10 years.
For The Cynic:
The same statistics used for a low risk person, could be stated as follows: You have a 96% chance of being heart attack free for 4 years and simvastatin might improve the this to a 97% chance.
The Cost:
Atorvastatin is not yet available as a generic drug, so if you have a generic/brand copay, it will cost more than simvastatin or pravastatin.. If you are paying cash, atorvastatin will continue to be very expensive until it comes off patent in a year or two.
Atorvastatin is a great drug, but it is not proven better than other “statins”.
Assess your risk and the benefit you would get from a “statin”
If you take a statin, we suggest using simvastatin until atorvastatin (Lipitor) comes off patent.
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