A 65-year-old man entered a pharmacy with a doctor’s prescription. He had been prescribed rosuvastatin 40 mg daily and has ezetimibe 10 mg daily.

a) Regarding rosuvastatin, he wanted to know:

i) what it was for; (1 mark)

ii) whether he could take it intermittently; (1 mark)

iii) the important adverse facts. (2 marks)

b) Regarding ezetimibe, he wanted to know:

i) what it was for; (1 mark)

ii) whether he could take it intermittently; (1 mark)

iii) how it worked. (1 mark)

c) He had painful knees and the pain was worse when he walked downhill. Was this likely to be related to his drugs? (2 marks)

d) He had a heart attack several years ago. His doctor mentioned that if his blood cholesterol was high, he might need injections of a drug to bring down the cholesterol. What is this class of drugs? How do they work? (4 points)

e) Name ONE advantage and ONE disadvantage of these injections. (2 marks)

f) Name THREE lifestyle changes that would help to lower blood cholesterol. (3 marks)

g) He had read about ‘good’ and ‘bad ‘cholesterol in the newspapers. What might he mean by ‘good’ and ‘bad’ cholesterol? (2 marks)