Grapefruit juice and Vytorin should not be taken together. Grapefruit products seem to interfere with an enzyme that is used by the body to break down simvastatin (a component of Vytorin), which causes the drug to stay in the body longer than intended. If you regularly drink grapefruit juice and Vytorin has been prescribed to you, ask your healthcare provider about other cholesterol-lowering medications.
Grapefruit Juice and Vytorin: An Overview
Like several other
cholesterol-lowering statins, grapefruit products, such as grapefruit, grapefruit juice, or grapefruit supplements, can potentially interact with
Vytorin® (
ezetimibe/
simvastatin).
How Grapefruit Juice and Vytorin Interact
It is thought that grapefruit products, including grapefruit juice, interfere with an enzyme that is used by the body to break down simvastatin, which is one of the components of Vytorin. This means that simvastatin stays in the body longer. In fact, clinical studies have shown that grapefruit juice can significantly increase the levels of simvastatin in the blood. In one clinical study, simvastatin levels in the blood increased by 15-fold when Vytorin was taken at the same time as high doses of grapefruit juice. Even one glass of grapefruit juice a day can significantly increase the levels of simvastatin, and therefore Vytorin, in the blood.
Grapefruit Juice and Vytorin: Recommendations
It is recommended that people on Vytorin not drink grapefruit juice, eat grapefruit, or use grapefruit supplements because it can increase the levels of Vytorin in the blood.
This, in turn, can increase the chances of developing a serious muscle problem (myopathy or rhabdomyolysis), which can cause the kidneys to stop working and lead to other life-threatening complications, including (in rare cases) loss of life
(see Vytorin and Muscle Pain).
If you are being treated with Vytorin and grapefruit juice is your preferred drink, talk to your doctor about other
cholesterol medications that you can take. Several of the statin cholesterol medications do not appear to interact with grapefruit juice.
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