Around medicine and pharmacology, atorvastatin occurs as member of the drug class of statins, used for lowering cholesterol and thereby preventing cardiovascular disease. Atorvastatin inhibits the rate-determining enzyme located around hepatic tissue used in cholesterin synthesis, which lower berth a total of cholesterin produced. This too has a consequence of lowering a number total of LDL cholesterol.

Unlike simvastatin and pravastatin, atorvastatin occurs as all synthetic compound.

Atorvastatin is presently marketed per pharmaceutical company Pfizer as Lipitor®. Sustaining 2004 sales of America$10.9 billion, these are a better merchandising drug in the globe.

Available forms
Atorvastatin is available when Lipitor in tablet form (10, Xx, Xl or even Eighty mg) for unwritten administration. Tablets come whiten, ovoid, & film coated.

Mechanism of action
Atorvastatin occurs as competitory inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase. This enzyme catalyzes a reduction of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A to mevalonate, which is the rate limiting step in hepatic cholesterol synthesis.

Because cholesterin synthesis lessens, hepatic cells increase a total of LDL receptors on a surface of a cells, which increase the total of LDL uptake per hepatic cells, & lessens the total of LDL in the blood.