Question

Marshall is an obese 50 year old man that has a family history of hyperlipidemia, and lab work from a recent physical demonstrated elevated lipid levels. The health care team has decided to prescribe lovastatin.

a.    What are the concerns for teenagers who are taking lovastatin?

b.    What classification of lipid-lowering medication is lovastatin, and how does it work?

c. What impact does weight, specifically obesity, have on lipid levels?

Answer 1

1)Lovastatin is used for the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease. It’s also used in the treatment of high cholesterol.

The concerns of ternagers taking lovastatin include

The kidneys of older adults may not work properly due to their drinking habits and other unhealthy routines .This may lead to condition in whichthe drugs are processed Moreovein the body very slowly. As a result, a large amount of a drug stays in the body for a longer time. This causes side effects from lovastatin.The side effects include

Muscle problems- muscle pain,muscle tenderness,muscle weakness

Liver problems -dark-colored urine,

yellowing of skin or whites of eyes

Stomach problems ,skin problems

2) classification of lipid lovering drugs

*HMG -CoA reductase inhibitors ( statins)

- Lovastatin

- simvastatin

- pravastatin

- atrovastatin

- Retrovastatin

- pitvastatin

* Bile acid sequesterins

• cholestyramine

• colestipol

*Lipoprotein lipase activatior

• Clofibrate

• gemfibrozil

• benzafibrate

• fenofibrate

*Lipolysis and triglycerides synthesis inhibitors

• Nicotinic acid

*Sterol absorption inhibitors

• Ezetimibe

• It comes under HMG CoA reductase inhibitors. It works by lowering the production of cholesterol in the body which in turn decrease the amount of cholesterol which may build up on the walls of the arteries and block the blood flow to the heart, brain, and other parts of the body.

3) Obesity may lead to specific changes in your cholesterol , that breaks down the different types of cholesterol and other blood fats. In obesity, triglycerides and LDL—or “bad”—cholesterol tends to be very high. HDL—or “good”—cholesterol is too low. This increases the chances of developingof heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.

In fact, body weight or obesity has a direct association with cardiovascular risk factors, including high cholesterol. This means that as weight increases, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides also increases.