Simcor Medicine for High Cholesterol

Simcor® (
 niacin extended-release/simvastatin) is a combination drug that is available by prescription only. Healthcare providers often prescribe Simcor for high cholesterol or high triglycerides.
 
Simcor is a combination of extended-release niacin and simvastatin. Niacin, or nicotinic acid, is also used as a cholesterol-lowering medicine. It is believed to work in several ways; it is thought that niacin works to increase HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol) levels by preventing the liver from removing HDL from the bloodstream. Additionally, niacin seems to decrease the liver's production of LDL and VLDL, two types of "bad" cholesterol. Niacin also helps decrease the release of fatty acids (from body fat) into the bloodstream.
 
Simvastatin is part of a class of drugs called statins. It works by blocking a particular enzyme (HMG-CoA reductase) that controls the rate of cholesterol production in the body. This causes the liver to make less cholesterol. It also increases the liver's ability to collect and get rid of LDL cholesterol.
 
Simcor can increase HDL cholesterol and help decrease the following "bad" forms of cholesterol and fats:
 
  • Total cholesterol
  • LDL cholesterol
  • Apo B cholesterol
  • Non-HDL cholesterol
  • Triglycerides.
     
(Click Simcor to learn more about the effects of the medicine Simcor on high cholesterol, to find out what side effects may occur with this drug, and for information on when and how to take it.)
 
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD