Simvastatin

Description

Simvastatin is a statin, a medicine that lowers cholesterol by blocking HMG-CoA reductase, the enzyme the liver uses to make cholesterol. It is licensed to treat raised cholesterol and mixed dyslipidaemia and to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in people at high risk. One tablet is taken each evening, because the liver makes most of its cholesterol overnight.

It is taken alongside a diet lower in saturated fat rather than instead of one. Avoid grapefruit juice, which raises simvastatin levels in the blood. Muscle aches are the side effect most often reported; tell your prescriber promptly about unexplained muscle pain, tenderness or weakness, particularly with a fever or feeling generally unwell.

Simvastatin must not be taken in pregnancy or while breastfeeding. It interacts with several medicines, including some antibiotics, antifungals, amiodarone and certain calcium channel blockers, and some of these limit the maximum dose that can be used.

• Statin that lowers cholesterol by blocking HMG-CoA reductase
• For raised cholesterol and reducing cardiovascular risk
• One tablet taken in the evening
• Available in 10mg, 20mg, 40mg and 80mg tablets
• Avoid grapefruit juice; several medicines limit the maximum dose
• Report unexplained muscle pain, tenderness or weakness