High cholesterol levels can increase your risk for developing heart disease and experiencing a stroke or a heart attack. If your cholesterol level is high, your doctor may prescribe a single cholesterol medication or a variety of cholesterol medications to help lower your numbers. Cholesterol-lowering medications may lower "bad" low-density lipoproteins, or LDL, and triglycerides, or may improve "good" high-density lipoproteins, or HDL.
Statins
Statins are one of the most commonly prescribed cholesterol-lowering medications. Statins work by blocking a substance that your liver needs to make cholesterol. Statins also stimulate your body to reabsorb cholesterol that has already accumulated on your artery walls. According to the American Heart Association, statins are the most effective at lowering LDL cholesterol, but can also slightly lower triglycerides and raise HDL cholesterol.
Possible side effects of statins include gas, constipation, cramps, abdominal pain and stomach pain. Most people can tolerate statins well, and serious side effects, which include muscle pain and muscle weakness, are rare.
Bile Acid Sequestrants
Your body uses cholesterol to make the digestive fluid, bile. Bile acid sequestrants, also called resins, work by binding to bile and blocking your body's ability to use it during digestion. In response, your body makes more bile, using up excess cholesterol in your blood.
Unlike statins, bile acid sequestrants are not used independently; they are used in conjunction with other cholesterol lowering medications. Side effects of bile acid sequestrants are similar to those of statins, and include bloating, nausea, constipation and gas.
Nitrates
Nitrates, also called niacin or nicotinic acid, work by reducing your liver's ability to produce LDL cholesterol. Niacin can also improve HDL cholesterol levels.
Of the cholesterol-lowering medications, niacin has the most possible side effects. Some common side effects include flushing, itching of the skin and upset stomach. Niacin also has the potential to cause toxicity, which can result in liver damage. It is important to note that prescription niacin differs from over-the-counter niacin supplements. Supplements should not be used as a cholesterol- lowering medication.
Fibrates
Fibrates are most effective in lowering triglycerides, but can slightly increase HDL cholesterol levels. Fibrates are not generally effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute notes that fibrates can reduce triglycerides by 20 to 50 percent, whereas they improve HDL cholesterol by 10 to 15 percent. Fibrates are typically used in conjunction with statins.
Like the other cholesterol-lowering medications, fibrates can cause gastrointestinal side effects, such as gas, constipation and upset stomach. Fibrates also increase your risk of developing cholesterol gallstones.
