The use of statins in optimising reduction of cardiovascular risk: focus on fluvastatin.
Patients with widely differing degrees of cardiovascular risk can derive benefit from effective lipid-lowering therapy with statins, including patients with normal or low cholesterol levels. Clinical trials with fluvastatin have shown that it is effective in patients across a broad spectrum of cardiovascular risk. The lipid-lowering effects of fluvastatin are smaller than some statins, but major clinical outcome studies have consistently demonstrated morbidity and mortality benefits with reductions of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of <30%. As treatment with statins is generally life-long and patients often receive multiple concomitant medications, optimal statin therapy should be well tolerated and serious consideration should be given to the avoidance of drug interactions. Although serious side-effects of statins are very rare, it is important that fluvastatin is less susceptible to drug interactions than other statins, because serious side-effects of statin therapy are generally associated with concomitant medications affecting statin metabolism. In addition, an extended-release formulation of fluvastatin has been developed to provide liver selectivity with a sustained exposure to the drug, thus improving its efficacy, and safety and tolerability profiles.
Corsini
A
A
Department of Pharmacological Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy. alberto.corsini@unimi.it
D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077340:Fluvastatin; D006801:Humans; D006903:Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007211:Indoles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors
D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D007211:Indoles; D000077340:Fluvastatin; D006903:Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases