Fluvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering medication, belongs to the class of drugs often known simply as statins. Statin drugs belong to a group of drugs called 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, most commonly abbreviated as HMG CoA reductase inhibitors. These drugs lower cholesterol by decreasing the amount of cholesterol manufactured in the liver. Your body needs cholesterol to function, so this drug does not prevent all cholesterol synthesis, but it does lower the amount produced.
Cholesterol Sources
Most of the cholesterol in your body, around 75 percent, comes not from diet but from cholesterol manufacture in the liver. Only 25 percent comes from your diet, according to the American Heart Association. While the AHA advises reducing the amount of cholesterol you consume to less than 300 mg daily, you may still have high cholesterol if you manufacture larger than normal amounts, unless you take medications like fluvastatin that decrease cholesterol synthesis. You can inherit the tendency to overproduce cholesterol.
Actions
Fluvastatin inhibits HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme that converts HMG-CoA to mevalonate. Mevalonate is a precursor of cholesterol and other sterols. A decrease in cholesterol production results in a decrease in cholesterol in the liver cells, which stimulates production of low-density lipoprotein, the "bad" cholesterol receptors. The increase in LDL receptors results in more LDL removal from the blood, which lowers serum cholesterol levels, especially LDL levels.
Dosages
Your response to certain doses of fluvastatin may differ from someone else's. Because fluvastatin and other statin medications can have potentially serious side effects, your doctor may start with the lowest effective dose. Fluvastatin doses range from 20 mg to 80 mg per day. For adults, the typical starting dose is 40 mg per day. Maximum effects of a given dose occur within four weeks, according to Drugs.com. Assessing blood levels after that time will show whether the current dose is effective or if the dose you're taking is enough to lower your cholesterol to a safe level.
Results
Fluvastatin lowers LDL, on average, between 22 and 36 percent, according to an article published by researchers from Weill Medical College of Cornell University in the August 2004 issue of "Circulation." Fluvastatin reduces the "good" cholesterol, HDL, but only by 3 percent to 11 percent. Total cholesterol normally drops between 16 percent and 27 percent, while triglycerides may drop by 12 percent to 25 percent.
