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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
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Pharmacy and Medications |
Can Cause Simvastatin Laryngeal Edema?12/23/2008 |
My father is 87 years old. He has a severe stenose of the aortavalve and atherosclerosis. Within the last ½ year he had suffered two AMIs. He also has severe nephropathy with a serum creatin at about 350 micromol/l. Clearence is estimeted to be under 30 ml/min. He is now and then complaining of edema of the larynx. I am wondering if 40 mg of Simvastatin for a patient like him too much? And can the edema be a side effect of too much Simvastatin? Or has the heart disease to be taken more serious than the bad kidney capacity?
Laryngeal edema can be caused by many different factors. Does he have any other signs and symptoms besides the edema in his larynx, such as shortness of breath or chest tightness? Does he have edema in other areas of his body or has he noticed any rashes?Given the information provided, it is unclear what is causing the edema. It may be an allergic reaction to the simvastatin (or other medications your father is taking), or even caused by his medical history, especially if his heart and kidney conditions are not well controlled.
If the medications are causing the edema, he can switch to other medications that won’t cause the edema. If his drugs are not causing it, then it is important to manage his health conditions.
Simvastatin belongs to the “statin” family of drugs. They are effective in decreasing cholesterol levels, which is a common problem, especially in people with blood pressure or kidney conditions. The usual starting dose for patients with reduced kidney function is simvastatin 5 mg.
However, I do not know how long your father has been on simvastatin. He may have tolerated the 5 mg and his doctor increased his dose. High cholesterol may cause a clot in blood vessels in the body, which feeds oxygen and nutrients to organs, such as the heart and kidneys.
Both his heart and kidney issues have to be taken seriously. It is important to manage his heart disease and the kidney problems together, especially in blood pressure, because the effect of one organ influences the health of the other organ.
I would suggest talking to his physician about the edema and any concerns about the medications so you can address these issues together.
Submitted by Tze-chun Vivian Liao
PharmD Candidate, Midwestern University College of Pharmacy
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Carmen M. Hadley, RPh, CSPI Clinical Instructor Central Ohio Poison Center Nationwide Children’s Hospital College of Pharmacy The Ohio State University |
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