How do reductase inhibitors work

This information sheet explains what statins do, how to give them, and what side effects or problems your child may have when they take these medicines. Statins work by lowering the level of cholesterol or other fats in the blood. They may also reduce the amount of cholesterol made in the liver. Statins are used in addition to a medically recommended and carefully supervised diet for the long-term treatment of high cholesterol.

Statins have been shown to decrease the chances of heart attack and stroke by preventing too much cholesterol from building up and blocking the arteries. There are different kinds of statins, for example atorvastatin and pravastatin. You may also hear these statins called by their brand names, Lipitor Atorvastatin or Pravachol Pravastatin. Statins come in tablet forms. Talk with your child's doctor or pharmacist if your child has any of the following conditions. Precautions may need to be taken with this medicine if your child has:.

Statins produce their cholesterol-lowering effect over a period of weeks or months. How well they work also depends on how well your child follows dietary advice given by their doctor.

Your child may have some of these side effects while they take statins. Check with your child's doctor if your child continues to have any of these side effects, if they do not go away, or if they bother your child:. Most of the following side effects are not common, but they may be a sign of a serious problem. Call your child's doctor right away or take your child to Emergency if your child has any of these side effects:. There are some medicines that should not be taken together with statins, or in some cases the dose of the statin or the other medicine may need to be adjusted.

It is important that you tell your doctor and pharmacist if your child takes any other medications prescription, over the counter or herbal including:. These calls are free. Disclaimer : The information in this Family Med-aid is accurate at the time of printing. Not all side effects are listed. Drug toxicity: Muscle pain myalgia is the most common patient complaint with statins. Clinicians will periodically order liver enzyme testing on patients taking statins to assess for this common side effect.

It is important to realize that not all patients on statin therapy with elevated liver enzymes have hepatic damage. Having preexisting liver disease can lead to more dramatic changes in liver enzymes. A less common side effect is non-life-threatening muscle damage that leads to an increase in serum creatine kinase CK levels.

An even less common side effect is rhabdomyolysis. In rhabdomyolysis, skeletal muscle breaks down rapidly and kidney damage occurs due to released myoglobin. Two very small trials of coenzyme Q10 had conflicting results regarding the efficacy of this therapy to relieve statin-induced myalgias. Likewise, some studies, but not all, have shown that replacing vitamin D in patients who are deficient can relieve similar myalgias.

Better strategies include switching therapy to statins with less intrinsic muscle toxicity fluvastatin and pravastatin or alternate-day dosing. Some have even had success with once-weekly dosing of rosuvastatin. References: Stone NJ, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. Back to Healio.

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