pravastatin sodium at a glance
Medicine class
Statin; an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor.
Main roles
Treating high cholesterol and reducing cardiovascular-event risk in appropriate patients.
Food
The tablets can be taken with or without food.
Prescription status
Prescription-only medicine.
What is pravastatin sodium used for?
The selected product is licensed for the following uses, alongside appropriate dietary and other risk-factor measures.
Primary hypercholesterolaemia or mixed dyslipidaemia when non-medicine measures have not provided an adequate response.
Reducing cardiovascular illness and death in people with moderate or severe hypercholesterolaemia at high risk of a first cardiovascular event.
Reducing cardiovascular illness and death after myocardial infarction or unstable angina, whether cholesterol is normal or raised.
Reducing raised blood lipids after solid-organ transplantation in people receiving immunosuppressive treatment.
How does pravastatin sodium work?
Pravastatin inhibits HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme involved in cholesterol production in the liver. This increases hepatic LDL receptors, helping remove LDL cholesterol from the blood. It also reduces production of VLDL, an LDL precursor.
pravastatin sodium preparations and strengths
Tablet
Route: Oral
Strengths: 10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg
How to take pravastatin sodium
Follow the dispensing label and prescriber’s instructions. Swallow the tablet with water; it may be taken with or without food. Continue recommended dietary and lifestyle measures, and speak to a clinician before stopping treatment.
The selected tablet is scored and can be divided into equal halves when advised.
Ask a pharmacist for help if swallowing tablets is difficult.
Limit alcohol because heavier consumption can increase the likelihood of liver-related problems.
pravastatin sodium side effects
Common or expected effects
- Headache or dizziness
- Feeling sick
- Constipation, diarrhoea, indigestion or wind
- Muscle aches
- Sleep disturbance
Get urgent medical advice
- Unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, weakness or cramps, which can rarely indicate serious muscle breakdown
- Yellow skin or eyes, pale stools or dark urine, which may indicate liver injury
- Swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat, or breathing difficulty
- A severe or spreading skin reaction
- New or worsening marked muscle weakness, including possible myasthenia symptoms
pravastatin sodium in pregnancy
The selected product is contraindicated during pregnancy. Statins are generally avoided because evidence remains insufficient to confirm safety, although available studies have not shown a clear increase in birth defects. Anyone planning a pregnancy or who becomes pregnant should contact their prescriber promptly rather than making treatment decisions alone.
pravastatin sodium while breastfeeding
The selected product licence contraindicates use during breastfeeding because a small amount enters breast milk. More recent specialist advice states that pravastatin may be used cautiously when treatment cannot reasonably be postponed, following an individual assessment and with monitoring that a full-term, healthy infant feeds and grows normally.
pravastatin sodium interactions
Check all prescribed, non-prescription and herbal products with a pharmacist or prescriber. Important examples include:
Systemic fusidic acid
Combining systemic fusidic acid with pravastatin can cause serious muscle breakdown; pravastatin usually needs to be withheld under clinical direction.
Fibrates, including gemfibrozil and fenofibrate
The combination increases the risk of muscle toxicity and is generally avoided unless specialist monitoring is arranged.
Ciclosporin
Ciclosporin substantially increases pravastatin exposure, requiring careful clinical and laboratory monitoring.
Common questions about pravastatin sodium
Answers are fully visible for fast scanning and source review.
What is pravastatin sodium used for?
It treats certain forms of high cholesterol and is licensed to reduce cardiovascular illness and death in specified high-risk, post-heart-attack, unstable-angina and transplant populations.
How does pravastatin sodium lower cholesterol?
It blocks HMG-CoA reductase in the liver, reducing cholesterol production and increasing removal of LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream.
Can pravastatin sodium be taken with food?
Yes. Food can reduce measured absorption, but the cholesterol-lowering effect is maintained whether the tablet is taken with or without food.
Sources
These sources were used to prepare and review this medicine page.
Prepared and reviewed by the iatroX editorial team.