Who might consider taking niacin?

In the past, experts thought that HDL cholesterol levels would increase even more if niacin were taken along with cholesterol-lowering medicines. These medicines, such as atorvastatin (Lipitor) and simvastatin (Zocor), are called statins. But newer studies indicate that niacin provides little additional benefit when compared with statins alone.

However, niacin may be helpful in people who can't tolerate statins or other cholesterol-lowering medicines. Some studies suggest that people with high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol may benefit from niacin.