Statins are safe, well tolerated, efficient and time tested drugs for the management of hypercholesterolemia, and thus play a cardinal role in the management of patients with heart disease. Although safe in clinical practice, they are associated with adverse effects, clinically the most important and most severe being muscle related complications/myotoxicity. Rhabdomyolysis, though rare, is the most severe form of myotoxicity. The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) adverse event reporting system reports rate of statin induced rhabdomyolysis at 0.3-13.5 cases per 1,000,000 patients. We present a case of a 74-year-old male who presented with an acute coronary syndrome and was initiated on atorvastatin. However, patient developed atorvastatin induced rhabdomyolysis, with non oliguric renal failure, which subsequently improved on cessation of medication.
Keywords: Atorvastatin; Hypercholesterolemia; Myotoxicity.