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Drugs in this class include:
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- Lovastatin
- Simvastatin
- Atorvostatin
- Pravastatin
- Niacin
- Cholestyramine
- Gemfibrozil
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The cholesterol-lowering medications have potent effects on lowering the LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Some of these drugs also have the bonus effect of raising the HDL (“good”) cholesterol. The “statin” class of cholesterol-lowering drugs in particular have gained widespread use in recent years. This class of drugs has been shown to reduce the incidence of heart attack and death in patients with high cholesterol and coronary artery disease. The statin drugs have some important side effects including muscle aches and cramps, muscle inflammation and damage (rare), and liver toxicity.
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