Atorvastatin

Medication statin heart & blood pressure

Aka: Lipitor, Atorva

Brands seen in Singapore: Lipitor, Atocor, Atavor, Eturion, Atswift

Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.

How to use

What it’s for

Prescribed for high cholesterol — a doctor decides

When to take

NHS: once a day, SAMe time each day, with or without food

Take with

Water · NHS: grapefruit juice kept to 1–2 small glasses

Pros & cons

Pros

NHS: once a day, with or without food
HealthHub: may reduce heart attack and stroke risk
NHS: chewable tablets and a liquid form exist

Cons

NHS: headache, dizziness, nausea, muscle aches
NHS: rare liver, pancreas or muscle damage
NHS: not recommended during pregnancy

Sources

HSA — Listing of Registered Therapeutic Products (data.gov.sg open dataset, 5,511 rows, pulled in full via datastore_search and filtered locally) · read 2026-08-27
what it says
“All 58 registered atorvastatin products (41 single-ingredient) carry Forensicclassification 'Prescription Only' — SIN09552P LIPITOR TABLET 10 mg · SIN15795P ATOCOR · SIN15493P ATAVOR · SIN13298P Eturion · SIN14693P ATSWIFT”
NHS Medicines A-Z — Atorvastatin: what atorvastatin is for · read 2026-08-27
what it says
“Atorvastatin is a medicine used to treat high cholesterol and prevent heart attacks and strokes. It's only available with a prescription … a type of cholesterol-lowering medicine called a statin.”
NHS Medicines A-Z — Atorvastatin: how to take atorvastatin · read 2026-08-27
what it says
“Atorvastatin usually comes as tablets or a liquid (oral suspension) … take it once a day – try to take it at the same time each day … take it with or without food”
NHS Medicines A-Z — Atorvastatin: side effects · read 2026-08-27
what it says
“Common side effects of atorvastatin include: headache; dizziness; feeling sick (nausea); digestive problems … muscle aches and swollen joints … Possible serious side effects … hepatitis … pancreatitis”
NHS Medicines A-Z — Atorvastatin: who can and cannot take it, and pregnancy · read 2026-08-27
what it says
“it may not be suitable if: … you have liver or kidney problems, or an underactive thyroid … a condition that affects the muscles, such as myasthenia gravis … you regularly drink a lot of alcohol”
NHS Medicines A-Z — Atorvastatin: taking it with other medicines · read 2026-08-27
what it says
“antifungal medicines, such as itraconazole or fluconazole; antibiotics such as fusidic acid, erythromycin and clarithromycin; … ciclosporin … warfarin … St John's wort, a herbal supplement”
NHS Medicines A-Z — Atorvastatin: food, drink and alcohol · read 2026-08-27
what it says
“avoid having too much grapefruit juice as it can increase the chance of side effects. Do not have more than 1 or 2 small glasses of grapefruit juice a day.”
HealthHub (Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore) — Atorvastatin: what is this medication for · read 2026-08-27
what it says
“Statins lower the amount of 'bad cholesterol' … High 'bad cholesterol' levels can cause your blood vessels to clog up … Hence, statins may reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke.”
HealthHub — Atorvastatin: what food or medication should I avoid · read 2026-08-27
what it says
“Avoid taking grapefruit, or grapefruit juice … Avoid taking a supplement called red yeast rice as this supplement may increase the risk of side-effects.”
US FDA label for LIPITOR (atorvastatin calcium), section 2 Dosage and Administration, via openFDA drug/label.json (effective 2024-04-15) · read 2026-08-27
what it says
“The recommended starting dosage of LIPITOR is 10 mg to 20 mg once daily. The dosage range is 10 mg to 80 mg once daily … do not exceed LIPITOR 20 mg once daily [with clarithromycin or itraconazole]”

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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

In Singapore

Classification
HSA register

prescription-only

This is the Singapore classification, taken from the HSA register. Dosing stays with the label and your pharmacist or doctor — this page never tells you how much to take.

What the label says

The US FDA label for lipitor states 'The recommended starting dosage of LIPITOR is 10 mg to 20 mg once daily. The dosage range is 10 mg to 80 mg once daily' — 80 mg once daily is the adult label maximum; the SAMe label caps it lower alongside some other medicines ('do not exceed LIPITOR 20 mg once daily' with clarithromycin or itraconazole). SG-registered single-ingredient tablets run 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg. in Singapore the prescriber sets the dose.

Who should check first

Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before taking this if any of these apply to you.

Liver or kidney problems, or an underactive thyroid (NHS)
Pregnancy or planning one: NHS: not recommended
A muscle condition such as myasthenia gravis (NHS)
Regularly drinking a lot of alcohol (NHS)

Documented interactions

With medicines and supplements

Clarithromycin, erythromycin, fusidic acid: NHS lists these antibiotics among medicines that may not mix well; the FDA label caps atorvastatin at 20 mg daily with clarithromycin^6,10
Itraconazole, fluconazole and other antifungals: NHS lists antifungals among medicines that may not mix well; the FDA label caps atorvastatin at 20 mg daily with itraconazole^6,10
Ciclosporin, warfarin, hiv and hepatitis c medicines: NHS lists these among medicines that may not mix well with atorvastatin⁶
Red yeast rice, st john's wort: HealthHub: red yeast rice may increase the risk of side effects; NHS lists st john's wort^9,6

With food and drink

Grapefruit juice: NHS: too much can increase the chance of side effects — no more than 1 or 2 small glasses a day^7,9

Only combinations someone has written down appear here. A pair that is missing is unrecorded, not cleared.