Atorvastatin is a member of the drug class known as statins, used for lowering blood cholesterol. It also stabilizes plaque and prevents strokes through anti-inflammation and other mechanisms. Like all statins, atorvastatin works by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme found in liver tissue that plays a key role in production of cholesterol in the body. Atorvastatin is absolutely contraindicated in pregnancy; it is likely to cause harm to fetal development because of the importance of cholesterol and various products in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway for fetal development, including steroid synthesis and cell membrane production. Nursing mothers are not recommended to take atorvastatin due to the possibility of adverse reactions in nursing infants, since experiments with rats indicate atorvastatin is likely to be secreted into human breast milk.
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