Prescription medications Archive

Statin dosages fall into three categories (low, moderate, or high) based on how much the medication can lower LDL. The choice of a statin depends on a person's risk.

Many common medications can affect oral health, causing issues like dry mouth, taste changes, gum swelling, mouth sores, or thrush. Patients should check side effects on medication labels, report persistent symptoms, review medications annually, and keep up with regular dental visits.

Many people with atrial fibrillation (afib) - a rapid, irregular heart rhythm - need to control symptoms, such as the feeling that the heart is racing or fluttering. Medication options include drugs that slow down the heart or help restore its rhythm. Because afib can also increase the risk of blood clots that can lead to a stroke, many of these people also need to take clot-preventing medications.

Doctors have long prescribed drugs called beta blockers to all heart attack survivors. These drugs, which slow down the heart and lower blood pressure, include atenolol (Tenormin) and metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol). Growing evidence suggests that these drugs offer no meaningful benefit for people whose hearts still pump normally after a heart attack. Sometimes, however, a heart attack leaves the left ventricle (the heart's main pumping chamber) unable to contract effectively. When that's the case, beta blockers are still recommended.