Atovastatin 10mg tablet

Medical uses

The primary uses of atorvastatin is for the treatment of dyslipidemia and the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Drug dose must be adjusted according to age of patient, and must be lowered in Hepatic insufficiency.

Contraindications

Active liver disease: cholestasis, hepatic encephalopathy, hepatitis, and jaundice Unexplained elevations in AST or ALT levels Pregnancy Breastfeeding.

Adverse effects

As stated earlier, myopathy with elevation of creatinine kinase and rhabdomyolysis are the most serious, although rare Headache is the most common side effect, occurring in more than 10% of patients.

Mechanism of action

As with other statins, atorvastatin is a competitive inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase. HMG-CoA reductase catalyzes the reduction of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) to mevalonate, which is the rate-limiting step in hepatic cholesterol biosynthesis.