Fluvastatin

Fluvastatin belongs to a class of medications known as statins, which are used to slow the production of a fatty substance called cholesterol in your blood. Cholesterol is a type of lipid — an oily, waxy or fatty compound that’s found naturally in your body and responsible for some of its vital processes.^[2] When your cholesterol levels are too high, though, you have an excess build up of lipids in your blood. These extra lipids can eventually clog your arteries, increasing your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

High cholesterol can be hereditary, or it can be caused by poor lifestyle habits, such as eating too much fatty food, smoking, or not getting regular exercise.^[1]

HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, also known as statins,^[3] work by reducing the amount of cholesterol your body produces. When too much cholesterol builds up in your arteries, they eventually start to narrow. This process, called atherosclerosis, makes it harder for blood to pass through them normally.

This reduced blood flow puts you at increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, transient ischaemic attack, and peripheral arterial disease.

Along with lifestyle changes, daily Fluvastatin can improve the amount of low-density lipoprotein in your blood (often called ‘bad’ cholesterol). This should improve your cardiovascular health, allowing blood to flow through your arteries with more ease.

Fluvastatin is available as a 20mg or 40mg capsule. The recommended dose to start treatment is 20mg a day. It can also be prescribed as a slow-release 80mg capsule, but this isn’t something we currently offer.
Doses are always between 20-80 mg per day. The lipid-lowering effect of Fluvastatin is achieved within 4 weeks of your first capsule, on any given dose. High cholesterol affects people differently, so the dose you’re prescribed will depend on your cholesterol levels when you begin using a statin. If your dose needs adjusting, it will usually be done every 4 weeks.

A clinician can answer any questions about your starting dose, or what you can expect while
using Fluvastatin, at any time during your treatment.

Swallow your Fluvastatin capsule(s) whole, with a glass of water.

If you’re taking one capsule a day, you can take it in the evening or just before you go to bed. If you’re taking two capsules a day, take one in the morning and one in the evening.

Reducing your cholesterol often involves a combination of dietary changes, exercise and, if a health professional decides you need it, medication. The NHS recommends eating more oily fish, like salmon and mackerel, along with seeds and nuts.^[1] These foods contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, and don’t increase your cholesterol the way saturated fats found in butter, cheese and fried foods do.

Fluvastatin should begin to work within the first week of taking it, but the full cholesterol-lowering effects might not be felt until you’ve been taking the capsules for four weeks. A blood test can tell you if your cholesterol levels have come down in that time.

If you forget to take your usual dose of Fluvastatin, you can swallow a capsule as soon as you remember, providing it’s less than four hours until you’re due another. This will prevent you from taking more medicine than you need.

There’s never any need to double your dose, or try and make up for missed capsules. You shouldn’t stop taking Fluvastatin without talking to a clinician first.