High blood cholesterol levels promote the accumulation of cholesterol along the walls of the blood vessels, a process known as atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis interferes with the flow of blood to the heart and brain, increasing the risk for heart disease, heart attack and stroke. Since heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, doctors urge patients with high cholesterol to take steps to lower their cholesterol, which may include taking a medication classified as a statin or making lifestyle changes like losing weight.
Use of Statins
Your liver produces approximately 75 percent of the total amount of cholesterol in your body. One type of cholesterol-lowering medication, known as a statin medication, inhibits the activity of an enzyme necessary for the production of cholesterol. By slowing the production of cholesterol, statin medications effectively lower your total and low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol levels. If you suffer from high cholesterol, with total cholesterol of greater than 240 mg/dL or a LDL of greater than 130 mg/dL, your doctor may recommend you take a statin medication. If you take statin medications, you should also make lifestyle changes such as losing weight or increasing physical activity to enhance the effects of the medication.
Side Effects
The class of statin medications includes simvastatin, atorvastatin, fluvastatin, pravastatin and rosuvastatin. Although statin medications can help lower your cholesterol level, which lowers your risk for heart disease, they can also cause unwanted side effects. Common side effects include constipation, nausea, stomach pain and headache. Other less common side effects include heartburn, weakness, lack of energy, loss of appetite, depression and cough. If you have several of these side effects together -- such as nausea and loss of appetite -- that might cause temporary weight loss. However, statin medications are not associated with weight loss, and some patients report weight gain, which only contributes to the effects of high cholesterol.
Serious Side Effects
Before taking a statin medication, discuss the positive and negative effects with your doctor. Statin medications are associated with some serious side effects, including liver damage, which your doctor can diagnose by monitoring your liver enzyme levels. Statin medications can also affect your muscles, causing muscle pain and tenderness also felt in the joints. In severe cases, the medication can cause a breakdown of muscle tissue, a condition known as rhabdomyolysis. The process of rhabdomyolysis releases protein in the blood that can damage the kidneys. Because of the risk for serious side effects, your doctor may suggest you make lifestyle changes to lower your cholesterol levels before taking medications.
Effect of Weight Loss
Being overweight or obese contributes to the onset of many chronic diseases including diabetes and heart disease. The American Heart Association reports that 60 percent to 70 percent of all Americans are either overweight or obese. Obese means that your BMI is over 30 or that you are 20 percent or more above your ideal weight. The more weight you carry, the higher your risk for high cholesterol levels. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic report that losing even 5 to 10 lbs can help reduce your cholesterol level. Whether you decide to take a statin to lower your cholesterol, you should also lose weight to reduce your cholesterol and to lower your blood pressure and your risk for diabetes.
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