Having both high cholesterol and high blood pressure, is a very complicated condition. If you are in this kind of situation, it would be best for you to ask your doctor questions and information about your prescribed medication. . This is because, some of the medicines for one condition, may have an adverse effect for the other. One example would be the said disadvantages of Lipitor to blood pressure.
Getting To Know Lipitor
There is a group of drugs marketed by pharmaceutical companies that is prescribed by doctors to lower your cholesterol level. This group is called “Statins.” These are medicaly proven to lower your cholesterol level, by inhibiting an essential enzyme’s function in your body. Some of the most popular Statins include drugs such as Pravachol (pravastatin), Crestor (rosuvastatin), Baycol (cerivastatin), Lescol (fluvastatin), Zocor (simvastatin), and Lipitor (atorvastatin).
Cholesterol is critical to the normal function of every cell in the body. The inhibited enzyme HMG-CoA reductase is a key enzyme in synthesizing cholesterol. It is vital for optimal adrenal, immune system, liver, sex hormone, thyroid hormone, brain function, fat metabolism and most of all, energy and stress regulation.
In fact, there are healthy people with low cholesterol that has high active levels of the said enzyme.
Side Effects
Like all drugs, info on Lipitor’s side effects is essential. It has a number of side effects that may become fatal especially if you have high blood pressure.
Brain Hemorrhage
If you have hypertension, and already had a history of having a stroke, Lipitor should be avoided. It was found that individuals, who take Lipitor after having a previous stroke, increase their risk of developing a brain hemorrhage. This can be very fatal, and if you really care about your health, you should stop taking Lipitor right away.
Muscle Damage
Muscle damage is a very frequent side effect of taking Lipitor. Myopathy, involving damage to your muscle tissue, is very serious. If this develops and Lipitor is not stopped, you may end-up having much severe case that is a dangerous and fatal disorder, known as “rhabdomyolysis”.
Other effects of Lipitor can be changes in blood pressure, liver damage, peripheral neuropathy, depression, abdominal pain, stomach aches, irritability, joint pains, decreased concentration, and a bit of memory loss.
Good News
If you have high blood pressure, one of the most prescribed drug is Norvasc (amlodipine besylate). It is greatly used for angina and high blood pressure management. The good thing with Norvasc is that it has a low incidence of side effects, and most of them are just minor like head aches, dizziness, and fatigue.
Do You Have High Cholesterol Too?
If you are suffering from hypertension and high cholesterol at the same time, there is a drug now that actually targets the two conditions. That drug is called Caduet!
Caduet is a prescribed drug that is formulated to combine two other medicines, which are Lipitor and Norvasc. There is adequate information online regarding this drug. Caduet can be one of many options, for treating hypertension and high cholesterol, that you and your doctor can consider using.