The dosage is based on your medical condition, response to treatment, age, and other medicines you may be taking. Be sure to tell your doctor and pharmacist about all the products you use, including prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and herbal products.
Avoid eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice while using this medication unless your doctor directs you otherwise. Grapefruit can increase the levels of this drug in the blood. For more information, please consult your physician or pharmacist.
If you also take certain other medicines to lower cholesterol (bile acid-binding resins such as cholestyramine or colestipol), take atorvastatin at least 1 hour before or at least 4 hours after these medicines. These products can react with atorvastatin, preventing its full absorption.
Take this medication regularly to get the most benefit from it. Remember to take it at the same time each day. Keep taking this medicine even if you feel well. Most people with high cholesterol or triglycerides do not feel sick.
Atorvastatin is used with a proper diet to lower blood cholesterol and triglyceride (fat) levels. This medication may help prevent medical problems (such as chest pain, heart attack, or stroke) caused by fat blocking blood vessels. It is also used to prevent certain types of heart and blood vessel problems in patients with risk factors for heart disease.
Atorvastatin belongs to the group of medicines called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, or statins. It works by blocking an enzyme your body needs to make cholesterol, thereby reducing the amount of cholesterol in your blood.
What is atorvastatin?
Atorvastatin belongs to a group of drugs called HMG CoA reductase inhibitors, or "statins."
Atorvastatin, taken with diet, lowers blood levels of "bad" cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, or LDL), increases levels of "good" cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein, or HDL), and lowers triglycerides (a types of fat in the blood).
