What is the safest statin to take for high cholesterol?

According to a research review people who take simvastatin (Zocor) or pravastatin (Pravachol) may experience fewer side effects.


What is the new cholesterol drug that is not a statin?

In studies, Nexletol also appears to reduce the risk of muscle pain, a common complaint of people on statins. Nexletol (bempedoic acid) is a new cholesterol-lowering drug.

Which statin is best and safest?

Which cholesterol-lowering drug is the safest? Overall, statins are safe as a class of drugs. Serious adverse events are very rare. Among the individual medications, studies have shown that simvastatin (Zocor®) and pravastatin (Pravachol®) seem to be safer and better tolerated than the other statins.


Which type of statin has least side effects?

In the analysis of 135 previous studies, which included nearly 250,000 people combined, researchers found that the drugs simvastatin (Zocor) and pravastatin (Pravachol) had the fewest side effects in this class of medications.

What is the best cholesterol-lowering statin?

Rosuvastatin and atorvastatin are the best at lowering LDL cholesterol.


Study Confirms What Many Patients Taking Statins Have Said for Years | NBC Nightly News



What is the first drug of choice for cholesterol?

Statins are the most common medicine for high cholesterol. They reduce the amount of cholesterol your body makes. You take a tablet once a day. You usually need to take them for life.

Which is safer Lipitor or Crestor?

Despite this, there was no significant difference between the two drugs in how well they decreased the volume of atherosclerotic buildup in the arteries. Both Crestor and Lipitor are generally well tolerated with a similar rate of side effects.

What is the healthiest statin?

According to a research review people who take simvastatin (Zocor) or pravastatin (Pravachol) may experience fewer side effects.


Which statin is safest for liver?

It turns out that some statins may be better at preventing liver cancer than others. Specifically, lipophilic statins (those that dissolve more readily in lipids such as oils and fats) may be more effective for preventing liver cancer than hydrophilic statins (those that dissolve more readily in water).

What is the best statin to start with?

However, in patients who do not achieve their LDL goals, atorvastatin and simvastatin may be the best choices for initial therapy. Statins also have antiproliferative effects on smooth muscle cells and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, all of which may help to reduce coronary events.

Can you stop taking statins once you start?

If you're taking a statin medication to lower your cholesterol, you will need to keep taking your prescription, or your cholesterol will likely go back up. Stopping your statin can put you at risk of having heart disease and other preventable health problems like stroke and heart attack from high cholesterol.


What reduces cholesterol quickly naturally?

Oatmeal, oat bran and high-fiber foods

Soluble fiber is also found in such foods as kidney beans, Brussels sprouts, apples and pears. Soluble fiber can reduce the absorption of cholesterol into your bloodstream. Five to 10 grams or more of soluble fiber a day decreases your LDL cholesterol.

Which statins clear the arteries of plaque?

A: Yes. There have been several clinical studies — many of them done here at Cleveland Clinic — that show statins can reverse plaque buildup. Two statins in particular, atorvastatin, which is sold under the brand name Lipitor, and rosuvastatin, which is sold under the brand name Crestor, are the strongest statins.

Is there a new drug to replace statins?

PCSK-9 inhibitors thus reduce cholesterol levels by maintaining higher levels of LDL receptors that remove cholesterol from the blood. Currently, PCSK-9 inhibitors are limited in use as they must be administered as shots. Further research into them could expand their use as an alternative to statins.


Is there a better statin than Lipitor?

They looked at the effects of Lipitor, Crestor, Zocor, and Pravachol on lowering LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol after six weeks. The study concluded that Crestor lowered LDL cholesterol by 8.2% more than Lipitor, and Crestor lowered total cholesterol significantly more than all the other statins studied.

Which statin affects the liver the most?

Atorvastatin is the most common cause of clinically significant liver injury among statins with a reported incidence of 1/17 000 users.

What is the best statin that doesn't cause muscle pain?

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.


What are the two downsides of taking statins?

While statins are highly effective and safe for most people, they have been linked to muscle pain, digestive problems and mental fuzziness in some people who take them and may rarely cause liver damage.

Is there a better solution than statins?

Along with a healthy diet and exercise, statin alternatives like ezetimibe (Zetia) can be taken with or without statins to help you meet your cholesterol goals. Natural and over-the-counter medications, like fish oil supplements, may also help manage your cholesterol levels.

Is it better not to take statins?

If your risk is very low, you probably won't need a statin, unless your LDL is above 190 mg/dL (4.92 mmol/L). If your risk is very high — for example, you've had a heart attack in the past — a statin may be helpful even if you don't have high cholesterol.


How can I lower my cholesterol without statins?

A few changes in your diet can reduce cholesterol and improve your heart health:
  1. Reduce saturated fats. Saturated fats, found primarily in red meat and full-fat dairy products, raise your total cholesterol. ...
  2. Eliminate trans fats. ...
  3. Eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids. ...
  4. Increase soluble fiber. ...
  5. Add whey protein.


What is a natural alternative to statin drugs?

For patients who can't tolerate cholesterol-lowering statins, natural remedies like bergamot, garlic and green tea may be a useful alternative, based on a recent statement published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

What is a natural statin?

These are most commonly found in fruits, vegetables, including figs, avocados, nuts, oilseeds, oils such as rice bran, olive oil and whole grains, including barley, oats, whole wheat. Taking two grams of plant sterols or stanols per day usually results in a 10 per cent lowering of LDL (bad) cholesterol.


What is the new treatment for high cholesterol?

Federal regulators have approved the new drug Leqvio to be used to help lower cholesterol levels in some people. The medication is designed to be taken along with statins and a balanced diet. Leqvio is designed to be taken twice a year, which experts say should help people adhere to a medication schedule.

How long does it take for statins to damage liver?

Statin-associated hepatocellular injury frequently occurs 5 to 90 days after the initiation of therapy. Bilirubin levels more than twice the ULN imply severe hepatocellular liver injury with a mortality of 10% and an incidence of 0.7–1.3 per 100,000 cases of drug-induced liver injury (DILI).