TABLE 6.
Currently available lipid-lowering medications
| Generic name | Trade name | Recommended dose range |
|---|---|---|
| Statins* | ||
| Atorvastatin | Lipitor (Pfizer Canada Inc) | 10 mg – 80 mg |
| Fluvastatin | Lescol (Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc) | 20 mg – 80 mg |
| Lovastatin | Mevacor (Merck Frosst Canada) | 20 mg – 80 mg |
| Pravastatin | Pravachol (Bristol-Myers Squibb, Canada) | 10 mg – 40 mg |
| Rosuvastatin | Crestor (AstraZeneca Canada) | 5 mg – 40 mg |
| Simvastatin | Zocor (Merck Frosst Canada) | 10 mg – 80 mg |
| Bile acid and/or cholesterol absorption inhibitors | ||
| Cholestyramine | Generic | 2 g – 24 g |
| Colestipol | Colestid (Pfizer Canada Inc) | 5 g – 30 g |
| Ezetimibe | Ezetrol (Merck Frosst/Schering Pharmaceuticals Canada) | 10 mg |
| Fibrates† | ||
| Bezafibrate | Bezalip (Hoffman-La Roche Limited, Canada) | 400 mg |
| Fenofibrate | Lipidil Micro/Lipidil Supra/Lipidil EZ (Fournier Pharma Inc, Canada) | 100 mg, 145 mg, 160 mg, 200 mg |
| Gemfibrozil‡ | Lopid (Pfizer Canada Inc) | 600 mg – 1200 mg |
| Niacins§ | ||
| Nicotinic acid | Generic cystalline niacin | 1 g – 3 g |
| Niaspan (Oryx Pharmaceuticals Inc, Canada) | 0.5 g – 2 g | |
*
Use lower dose ranges in persons of South and East Asian origin;
†
In patients with renal insufficiency (creatinine clearance between 20 mL/min and 100 mL/min), fibrates should be initiated at the lowest available dose and increased only after re-evaluation of renal function and lipid parameters;
‡
Do not use gemfibrozil in combination with a statin.
§
In patients with diabetes or glucose intolerance, initiate therapy at 500 mg/day to 1000 mg/day and monitor glycemic control