Is statin and gemfibrozil mix safe?
Doering says cardiologists are split over whether statins and a non-statin drug, like gemfibrozil, should be used in combination at all. “Some cardiologists know and respect this interaction. Others turn a deaf ear to it. I’d choose one who knows and respects that combination,” Doering says. Cardiologists interviewed by HealthAtoZ said they would each be cautious about prescribing statins and gembrozil in combination to patients, and that they would even be cautious about prescribing statins alone to elderly patients, who may have multiple health problems and who may be on multiple medications. “Many patients take the combination safely,” says Christopher Cannon, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “Gemfibrozil is effective in raising HDL (the “good cholesterol”), so the general combination of adding it onto a statin is an appealing one. You just have to be very careful in monitoring patients.” Jones, the Baylor cardiologist who personally has been taking a statin
