Important Warning[Posted 09/30/2008] An FDA analysis provides new evidence that the use of statins does not increase ... Full Alert
Pending revision, the material in this section should be considered in light of more recently available information in the MedWatch notification at the beginning of this monograph.
Lovastatin is used together with lifestyle changes (diet, weight-loss, exercise) to reduce the amount of cholesterol (a fat-like substance) and other fatty substances in the blood. Lovastatin is in a class of medications called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins). It works by slowing the production of cholesterol in the body.
Buildup of cholesterol and fats along the walls of the blood vessels (a process known as atherosclerosis) decreases blood flow and, therefore, the oxygen supply to the heart, brain, and other parts of the body. Lowering blood levels of cholesterol and fats may help to decrease your risk of heart disease, angina (chest pain), strokes, and heart attacks. In addition to taking a cholesterol-lowering medication, making certain changes in your daily habits can also lower your cholesterol blood levels. You should eat a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol (see SPECIAL DIETARY), exercise 30 minutes on most, if not all days, and lose weight if you are overweight.
Lovastatin comes as a tablet and an extended-release (long-acting) tablet to take by mouth. The regular tablet usually is taken once or twice a day with meals. The extended-release tablet usually is taken once a day in the evening at bedtime. Take lovastatin at around the same time(s) every day. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take lovastatin exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor.
Swallow the extended-release tablets whole; do not split, chew, or crush them.
Your doctor may start you on a low dose of lovastatin and gradually increase your dose, not more than once every 4 weeks.
Continue to take lovastatin even if you feel well. Do not stop taking lovastatin without talking to your doctor.
This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
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