Since their introduction, statins have been a cornerstone and milestone drug in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease from a lipid-lowering drug until now. However, there are often patients who ask their doctors if they can change to once every other day or 3 times a week after their blood lipids reach the standard after using statin therapy. Today we will briefly discuss whether they can take statins in this way. 1, what is the role of statins is currently the most effective lipid-lowering drugs, not only can strongly reduce total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), but also can reduce triacylglycerol (TG) to a certain extent, but also can raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL), so statins can also be called more comprehensive lipid regulating drugs. Treatment of atherosclerosis, has become the most effective drugs for the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease. 2, statins are divided into which kinds of drugs At present, there are 7 statins listed in China, the first generation includes lovastatin, pravastatin and simvastatin, the second generation includes fluvastatin, the third generation includes atorvastatin, resulvastatin and pitavastatin. Various statins have different lipid-lowering intensity (LDL-41% degree of reduction): Atorvastatin 20mg ≈ Rosuvastatin 5mg ≈ Pitavastatin 4mg ≈ Lovastatin 80mg ≈ Pravastatin 80mg ≈ Simvastatin 40mg. 3. How to take statins The synthesis of cholesterol by the liver mainly occurs at 2:00-3:00 a.m. Most statins such as fluvastatin, lovastatin Pravastatin, simvastatin, etc. have a short half-life of about 2-4h, and these drugs can only be taken at night to make the effective blood concentration cover the peak of cholesterol synthesis at night. Rosuvastatin and atorvastatin are long-acting inhibitors (about 14h for atorvastatin and 19h for rosuvastatin), which can be taken at any time of the day, and the drug has a longer duration of action in the body, and the blood concentration can be maintained in a certain concentration range, which has an inhibitory effect on endogenous cholesterol synthesis. 4, can statins be taken every other day In a few cases, some people have adverse reactions such as liver or muscle after taking statins, for these patients can consider reducing the statin dose medication. It is not recommended to take them every other day, but it does not matter much if you miss a dose once in a while, especially if the statin has a long half-life, such as atorvastatin and rasuvastatin extended-release, in which case you can ensure that the drug continues to have a cholesterol-lowering effect for a longer period of time. Generally no adverse reactions, it is not recommended to take statins every other day or interval, so as to reduce the number of doses or the amount of doses will reduce the intensity of treatment, cholesterol levels will fluctuate again, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular may be threatened again. 5, statin adverse reactions and taking precautions The common adverse reactions of statins are closely related to the dose of drugs, mainly need to be alert to myopathy and liver adverse reactions, and other gastrointestinal reactions, skin flushing, headache, etc. (1) Clinical manifestations of statin-related myopathy include myalgia, myositis and rhabdomyolysis. If myalgia, weakness or unexplained fatigue occurs during the course of drug use, the drug should be discontinued promptly and necessary tests should be done in hospital. CK (creatine kinase) needs to be monitored regularly while using the drug to see if it causes damage to the muscles. (2) Impaired liver function is manifested by elevated levels of liver enzymes (ALT, AST). The increase in liver enzymes is mostly transient, mostly occurring in the first 3 months, and the levels of liver enzymes can generally be reduced after stopping the drug. We hope that patients taking statins will not change the use of drugs on their own, but must go to a cardiologist or pharmacist to adjust or change the drugs under the guidance of a specialist in cardiology.