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What Is Pravastatin Used For?
Many people wonder, "What is pravastatin used for?" Pravastatin, which is a type of statin, is licensed to treat a number of conditions, including high cholesterol and high triglycerides. It is also used to prevent heart disease and heart-related problems.
What Is Pravastatin Used For? -- An Overview
Pravastatin is a medication that has been licensed to treat several conditions. These pravastatin uses are as follows:
- Treatment of high cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia)
- Treatment of high triglycerides
- Prevention of heart disease and heart-related problems.
There are two forms of pravastatin available: the brand name drug Pravachol® and the generic version called Pravastatin tablets ("pravastatin").
High Cholesterol or High Triglycerides Treatment
Pravastatin is used for treating high cholesterol in people who cannot lower cholesterol through lifestyle changes. Pravastatin can lower total cholesterol and LDL ("bad cholesterol"), as well as increase HDL ("good cholesterol"). Pravastatin has also been shown to lower triglyceride levels in the blood. Triglycerides are the main storage form of fat in the body.
Prevention of Heart Disease
Pravastatin is also used to decrease the chances of developing heart disease in those without existing coronary heart disease but with high cholesterol. In this group of people, pravastatin has been shown to decrease the chances of:
- A heart attack
- Dying from a heart or blood vessel-related problem (cardiovascular disease)
- Needing a heart procedure, such as angioplasty or open heart surgery (known medically as coronary artery bypass graft surgery, or CABG).
Pravastatin has also been shown to decrease the chances of developing several conditions in people with heart disease, including:
- A heart attack
- A stroke or transient ischemic stroke (known also as a TIA or "mini-stroke")
- Dying from a heart or blood vessel-related problem (cardiovascular disease)
- Needing a heart procedure, such as angioplasty or open heart surgery.
It also has been shown to decrease the rate at which atherosclerosis develops in those with existing heart disease.
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD