If you're like many people, once you've been told by your physician that your cholesterol levels are high, you'll be anxious to bring them down to lower your risk for heart disease. Along with cigarette smoking, sedentary living, obesity, diabetes and hypertension, high cholesterol can adversely affect your health and potentially shorten your life. While the traditional approach begins with diet and exercise, if you are at high risk for a cardiac event, your doctor may prescribe one of the following prescription drugs to deal with a specific component of your blood lipids as rapidly as possible. Exactly what he prescribes depends on your unique situation.
Step 1
Have your blood drawn by your physician or a clinical laboratory technician to evaluate your total cholesterol, low density lipoproteins (LDL), high density lipoproteins (HDL) and triglycerides. Go over the results with your physician and develop a plan for lowering your LDL and raising your HDL. File the results where you can refer to them in six months to evaluate your progress.
Step 2
Ask your doctor to prescribe one of the statin drugs (also known as HMG CoA reductase inhibitors) if you have high levels of LDL cholesterol and can't afford to take the time to allow diet and exercise to naturally bring down your LDL cholesterol. Since LDL cholesterol is the primary offender for coronary artery disease, you'll want to bring that down as quickly has you can. You'll still need to lower the cholesterol, fat and trans fats in your diet while you take the medication.
Step 3
Have your doctor prescribe one of the selective cholesterol absorption inhibitors if your LDL cholesterol levels are high but you still have relatively normal levels of HDL cholesterol. Selective cholesterol absorption inhibitors work by preventing the absorption of cholesterol in your intestine. If it is not absorbed, it can be enveloped by soluble fiber, such as oatmeal, and excreted before it has an opportunity to deposit on the inside of the arterial walls.
Step 4
Ask your doctor to prescribe one of the resins (also known as bile acid sequestrant or bile acid-binding drugs) if you have high LDL cholesterol. Bile acid sequestrant resins work in the intestines by disposing of LDL cholesterol. Cholesterol is normally made by bile, an acid used in the digestive process. Resins bind to bile to make it ineffective during the digestive process. The more bile that's created in the liver, the more cholesterol is used, hence, lowering the LDL cholesterol.
Step 5
Request a prescription for fibrates (fibric acid derivatives) if your triglycerides are too high and your HDL cholesterol is too low. Because they're not particularly effective in lowering LDL cholesterol, they're often prescribed along with statins to lower LDL cholesterol. They're also very effective at lowering triglycerides.
Step 6
Ask your doctor for a prescription of niacin (nicotinic acid) if you need to lower your triglycerides and LDL cholesterol and raise your HDL cholesterol. There are two types of niacin: prescription and over-the-counter (OTC). To date, there have been no studies to validate the effectiveness of of OTC niacin, so be sure to use the prescription variety. The most common complaint about niacin is the flushing it causes on the face and under the neck. It can also temporarily raise blood glucose levels, so be sure to check with your doctor before you start taking niacin if you have diabetes.
Tips and Warnings
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- Never exceed the prescribed amount for quicker results. Take your prescriptions only as directed by your doctor.
