If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, taking steps to treat the condition could be the difference between life and death. High cholesterol increases the likelihood of developing heart disease or suffering a heart attack or stroke. Once diagnosed, you should speak with your doctor about what you should do to bring levels down. You should aim for a total blood cholesterol level of less than 200 mg/dL total, while HDL levels should be higher than 60 mg/dL and LDL levels should be less than 100 mg/dL, according to the American Heart Association.
Quit Smoking
If you're a smoker, quitting is a good first step in lowering cholesterol levels. Smoking is a risk factor for heart disease. Quitting can lower cholesterol levels as well as reduce your risk for heart disease and other serious health conditions, according to MayoClinic.com. In fact, a year after you quit smoking you will be only half as likely as a smoker to develop heart disease.
Lose Weight
If you are overweight, losing excess pounds can lower LDL levels, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Losing weight is most important for people who have multiple risk factors for metabolic syndrome. These risk factors include being overweight, having high triglyceride and low HDL levels and having a waist circumference greater than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men.
Get Moving
Regular exercise can help lower LDL levels and raise HDL levels, the National Cholesterol Education Program reports. If you aren't in the habit of exercising regularly, get started by trying to do about 20 minutes of physical activity daily. Gradually increase the amount of time you spend exercising until you are getting between 30 and 60 minutes daily. Try to pick activities that interest you, and vary your routine so it won't become boring or monotonous.
Eat Right
Changing your diet to be more healthful can go a long way in lowering cholesterol levels. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute recommends the therapeutic lifestyle changes diet for people with high cholesterol. The diet involves limiting your intake of trans fats, saturated fat and cholesterol and increasing your intake of soluble fiber and cholesterol-lowering foods containing plant sterols and stanol esters. If you are trying to lower your cholesterol levels, you should also aim to eat only enough calories to maintain a healthy body weight.
Prescription Drugs
If your cholesterol levels remain elevated despite adopting healthy lifestyle changes, you may need to speak with your doctor about taking a prescription medication that can lower cholesterol levels. Drugs classified as statins are an effective treatment for high cholesterol because they slow your body's production of LDL and help the liver destroy it more quickly, according to the National Library of Medicine. Several statins are available and most are well-tolerated. However, in rare cases statins can affect how well the liver functions. Because of this, your doctor will likely order regular blood tests to check liver function while you are taking statins.
References
- National Library of Medicine: Managing Cholesterol
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: High Blood Cholesterol
- National Cholesterol Education Program: High Blood Cholesterol: What You Need to Know
- American Heart Association: Prevention and Treatment of High Cholesterol
- Mayo Clinic: Top 5 Lifestyle Changes to Reduce Cholesterol
