What are the 10 most common cholesterol tablets?
In this article we will describe what are the 10 most common cholesterol tablets.
HMG CoA reductase inhibitors (or ‘statins’)
This is most common group. These are the most popular examples.
1. Atorvastatin (dose 10-80mg OD). This is the most commonly used in the UK
2. Fluvastatin
3. Pravastatin
4. Rosuvastatin
5. Simvastatin
What are the pros and cons of statins?
The pros and cons of statins have been extensively debated. You should go through these with the doctor that wants to prescribe one before you start. It is useful to try dietary and lifestyle means (exercise, lose weight, and reduce sugar and fat) for three months first, to see if that reduces your cholesterol.
Pros
- Reduce likelihood of heart attack and stroke
- Single tablet once a day.
Cons
- Can affect liver function
- Muscle pain
- Rhabdomyolysis/AKI (rapid onset kidney failure)
- Increase blood sugar
- Pregnant women should not take them.
Other medications
6. Ezetimibe
7. Fibrates – e.g. Fenofibrate, and Gemfibrozil
8. Bile acid binder – e.g. Colestyramine
9. Niacin
10. Injections – e.g. such as Alirocumab, Evolocumab (monoclonal antibodies that inhibit PCSK9, proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9) and Inclisiran.
Summary
We have described what are the 10 most common cholesterol tablets. We hope it has been helpful.
Other resource
This is a paper with much more detail on these drugs: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK395573/
