The drug for preventing and treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases is one called aspirin, and the other is also famous, that is statin drug .
Aspirin is used to antiplatelet aggregation, while statins lower blood lipids and stabilize atherosclerosis.
aspirin is a single drug, but statins are the general term for a class of drugs, such as atorvastatin, rosuvastatin, simvastatin , fluvastatin , pitvastatin , pravastatin and lovastatin , etc., which are actually statins.
Among these drugs, the one that everyone is most familiar with is atorvastatin. When treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, doctors all prescribe this medicine.
The problem is here. Since doctors especially like to use atorvastatin, does it mean that this drug has the best effect and the least side effects?
If you want to reveal the truth, you might as well understand the mechanism of action of statins is to compete to inhibit endogenous cholesterol synthesis rate-limiting enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, block the metabolic pathway of hydroxymethylvalerate in cells, reduce the synthesis of cholesterol in cells, and thus feedback stimulate the increase in the number and activity of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors on the surface of the cell membrane, increasing the clearance and level of serum cholesterol.
In layman's terms, the reason why statins can lower blood lipids and is because they can inhibit the key enzymes in cholesterol synthesis. Different types of statins have different strengths in their cholesterol-lowering efficacy.
is divided into low-intensity statin, medium-intensity statin and high-intensity statin according to the different strengths. The amplitude of low-intensity statin reduces LDL cholesterol within 30%; the amplitude of high-intensity statin reduces LDL cholesterol between 50%-60%; the amplitude of medium-intensity statin between the two.
The atorvastatin that doctors often prescribe is a high-intensity statin, and rivastatin is also a high-intensity statin.
Although atorvastatin is better in lipid-lowering, it does not mean that its side effects are smaller. In fact, all statins have similar side effects. The main side effects of statins are myopathy and liver adverse reactions, and others include gastrointestinal reactions, skin flushing, headaches, etc.
There are some rules to remember when taking statins.
First, it is best to take statins at night, because night is the peak period for the body's cholesterol synthesis, and taking medicine before going to bed can help lower cholesterol.
Second, do not drink alcohol during statin, because statins may induce rhabdomyolysis, and drinking alcohol will further increase this risk.
Third, statins should be taken for a long time and you cannot stop the medication at will. Many people think that they can stop the medication when they see their blood lipids are normal during the period of taking statins. What is the result? Once stopped, cholesterol quickly increased. The reason for this is that statins are only enzymes that inhibit cholesterol synthesis, not directly lower cholesterol. Inhibiting enzymes does not completely eliminate enzymes, so cholesterol will rise rapidly after stopping the drug.
