For men with high cholesterol, taking statins may have become part of a daily routine. But a new study set out to determine if there’s a best time of day to take different types of statins, also known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. Here’s what they found regarding the lipid-lowering medications.
Statins to take in the evening
Short-acting statins, such as Mevacor, Pravachol and Zocor, should be taken at night. That’s because the liver enzyme that produces cholesterol is more active at night and most short-acting statins have a 6-hour half-life. (A half-life is the time it takes your body to process the medication and remove half of it.)
Two separate reviews found that people who took short-acting statins in the evening had lower total cholesterol and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels than those who took them earlier in the day.
Statins to take any time of day or night
Long-acting statins, such as Lipitor and Crestor, can have a half-life of up to 19 hours. That gives you more wiggle room to take them when it best suits you. When in doubt, take them when it’s easiest to remember, such as every morning when you brew your pot of coffee or every night before you brush your teeth. The key is to be consistent with your timing.
Getting off statins
Although some people need to take statins for the rest of their life to avoid an increase in cholesterol levels, other might be able to cut back on their dosage or stop taking them altogether if they significantly lower their risk of heart disease.
Three controllable factors that could help you get off statins include:
• quitting smoking
• losing a lot of weight
• changing your eating habits
Of course, you should never quit taking a medication without first talking to your doctor.
