Rosuvastatin (Cont.)

How Does It Work?

Rosuvastatin is part of a class of drugs called statins. The medicine works by blocking a particular enzyme, HMG-CoA reductase, that controls the rate of cholesterol production in the body. This causes the liver to make less cholesterol. Rosuvastatin also:
 
  • Increases the liver's ability to collect and get rid of LDL cholesterol
  • Increases HDL cholesterol
  • Decreases triglycerides.
     

Rosuvastatin Effects

In general, cholesterol treatment begins with lifestyle changes (weight loss, exercise, and diet). If lifestyle changes alone do not lower cholesterol enough, medication such as rosuvastatin may be necessary.
 
The main goal of high cholesterol medication is to lower LDL cholesterol levels enough to reduce your risk of developing problems related to high cholesterol, such as heart disease or heart attack (see Effects of High Cholesterol). The higher your risk, the lower your LDL goal will be.
 
(Click High Cholesterol Risk to determine your cholesterol risk and find out what your LDL cholesterol level should be.)
 
Since rosuvastatin can lower LDL cholesterol (along with lowering total cholesterol and increasing HDL), a person can lower his or her risk for developing certain health problems in the future by taking the medication.
 
In previous research studies, people taking rosuvastatin for high cholesterol treatment were able to, on average:
 
  • Decrease LDL cholesterol by up to 63 percent
  • Decrease triglycerides by up to 35 percent
  • Decreases ApoB cholesterol by up to 54 percent
  • Decrease total cholesterol by up to 46 percent
  • Raise HDL by up to 14 percent.
     
In general, greater responses were seen with higher rosuvastatin doses.
 
(Rosuvastatin Continued: Page 4)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;