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Should Dosage Of Lipitor Be Reduced When Total Cholesterol Is Low And LDL Is Managed?
Posted on
Fri, 22 Jun 2018
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Fri, 22 Jun 2018
Answered on
Tue, 11 Jan 2022
Last reviewed on
Question : I had triple bypass 6 years ago. No heart attack, just really bad blockage. Cardiologist put me 80 mg of generic lipitor. He claims the reason for the dosage is to get my LDL down below 70. My last blood test showed LDL of 69 with total cholesterol of 123. When I went to my GP, he said my total cholesterol was too low and that could cause brain problems such as dementia, etc. Cardiologist doesn't buy it and says I should stay at a dosage of 80mg and GP says I should go down to 40mg. Cardilogist agreed to have me try 40mg for 6 months and get another blood test. What do you think?
Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I passed carefully through your question and would agree with your GP that these low cholesterol levels could lead to several adverse effects such as insomnia, depression or dementia.
From the other hand, I agree with the cardiologist that it is important taking statins for your coronary artery disease, coupled with blood thinners (which are the main therapy).
Coming to this point, I find it reasonable to lower the dose of statins (even 10 or 20mg daily) for some months and periodically check your blood lipid profile every 2 or 3 months, in order to be sure that your cholesterol levels are not getting too high.
You should know that there are many controversaries about statins in low cholesterol patients or heart failure patients.
But, low cholesterol levels are dangerous too, because cholesterol is important for our brain function.
For this reason, it is important try to maintain a balance, and periodically check your blood lipid profile.
I would also recommend taking blood thinners (aspirin, clopidogrel, etc.) which are much more important than statins for the prevention of a heart attack of stroke.
I would also encourage you to use a balanced diet (vitamins, proteins, omega 3 fatty acids, etc., low salt intake, low caffeine intake) and performing regular physical activity.
Hope to have been helpful!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
I would explain as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I passed carefully through your question and would agree with your GP that these low cholesterol levels could lead to several adverse effects such as insomnia, depression or dementia.
From the other hand, I agree with the cardiologist that it is important taking statins for your coronary artery disease, coupled with blood thinners (which are the main therapy).
Coming to this point, I find it reasonable to lower the dose of statins (even 10 or 20mg daily) for some months and periodically check your blood lipid profile every 2 or 3 months, in order to be sure that your cholesterol levels are not getting too high.
You should know that there are many controversaries about statins in low cholesterol patients or heart failure patients.
But, low cholesterol levels are dangerous too, because cholesterol is important for our brain function.
For this reason, it is important try to maintain a balance, and periodically check your blood lipid profile.
I would also recommend taking blood thinners (aspirin, clopidogrel, etc.) which are much more important than statins for the prevention of a heart attack of stroke.
I would also encourage you to use a balanced diet (vitamins, proteins, omega 3 fatty acids, etc., low salt intake, low caffeine intake) and performing regular physical activity.
Hope to have been helpful!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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