Your blood fat levels significantly affect your risk of developing coronary heart disease, the leading killer of Americans. Coronary heart disease develops when fat accumulates in the arteries that supply your heart with blood. Cholesterol medicines help correct your blood fat levels, reducing bad LDL cholesterol and increasing good HDL cholesterol. Once you begin taking cholesterol medicine, your doctor is likely to keep you on it indefinitely unless your circumstances change significantly.
It's not unusual to have high cholesterol -- according to Harvard Medical School, around one in every three Americans has this problem. If you do have it, you definitely want to lower it, since doing so can reduce your risk of ...
Cinnamon has traditional medical uses as well, including treatment of upset stomach, inflammation and arthritis. Cinnamon is promoted in some alternative health circles as effective for lowering high cholesterol. Consult a qual...
Alcohol, in moderation, may have a positive impact on your HDL, or good cholesterol. However, when taking a cholesterol-lowering medication, the risks of combining alcohol with your medication may outweigh any benefits it provi...
High cholesterol can pose a great health risk if it's not treated promptly and properly. Your doctor uses the results of your lipid profile, or cholesterol test, to devise your treatment plan if your cholesterol levels are too ...
The developing fetus grows rapidly, especially in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a time when major organs also form. Drugs that can cause birth defects, called teratogens, can have devastating effects when taken at crucial po...
Cholesterol is pertinent to bodily functions such as production of hormones, bile acids and vitamin D. When cholesterol levels are out of range, your doctor will prescribe a heart healthy diet. This includes lean proteins, whol...
But for some people, grapefruit juice can cause dangerous and even life-threatening interactions with medications. Grapefruit juice may cause adverse side effects with over 50 different medications. In particular, patients taki...
Cholesterol is a naturally occurring substance in the blood that is necessary for many functions within the body, such as cell membrane stability and hormone production. While healthy levels of cholesterol are important for fun...
If lifestyle changes alone don't return unhealthy cholesterol to normal levels, your doctor may prescribe medicine to help. Older people, men and those with a family history of high cholesterol face greater likelihood of develo...
High cholesterol levels significantly increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. The best way to lower high cholesterol is through the proper diet and exercise. If diet and exercise do not sufficiently lower your cholester...
Grapefruit juice is a healthy beverage that contains 120 percent of your daily recommended vitamin C, as well as small amounts of calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, magnesium, iron, thiamine, niacin, folate and phosphorus. Drink...
This disease is quite common and can show no signs or symptoms, while others may experience inflammation and scarring. In many cases, doctors will not prescribe cholesterol medicine for a fatty liver, but only for reducing chol...
While side effects of interactions between grapefruit and medications for depression, pain and high blood pressure are relatively mild, grapefruit and cholesterol medication interactions can prove deadly. It is important to und...
High cholesterol is a danger to your health, increasing your risk for heart disease. Although diet and lifestyle changes are the first defense in your fight against this disease, it might take an ally, such as a cholesterol-low...
Cholesterol is a substance found in the fat in the blood and within cells. It is used to form cell membranes, hormones and other functions. However, a high level of the bad cholesterol, called LDL, may clog arteries and increas...
Doctors have an array of medications to choose from to treat high cholesterol. Some lower your "bad" cholesterol, whereas others raise your "good" cholesterol. Before taking these drugs, you should know how they work and what s...
Hyperlipidemia is a condition that results in increased levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and lipids in the bloodstream. Hyperlipidemia increases the risk of stroke, heart disease and pancreatitis. To lower the long-term ris...
Cholesterol is a wax-like substance that is in the lipids in the bloodstream. Although the word cholesterol often carries negative implications, cholesterol is an important part of proper body function. Cholesterol can be divid...
When lowering cholesterol means taking drugs indefinitely, you must consider the risks and benefits of the medication. Most cholesterol medicines lower cholesterol with relatively few bothersome effects, but they can occasional...
When lifestyle modifications aren't enough to bring your blood cholesterol levels under control, your doctor may prescribe medications. Statin drugs, which block a substance your liver needs to produce cholesterol, are the mos...
High levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is one of the main risk factors for atherosclerosis, the number one cause of death for the American population. In atherosclerosis, the medium and large arteries have plaque fi...
If these measures do not lower your cholesterol reading sufficiently, your doctor might prescribe medicine to alter your blood fat, or lipid, levels. Several types of medicines can help you control your cholesterol.
According to the American Heart Association, or AHA, elevated blood cholesterol is a major controllable risk factor for serious heart disease and stroke. Cholesterol levels are directly related to risk of heart disease, so it's...
Two major types of cholesterol are in the body: low-density lipoprotein, known as LDL or "bad" cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein, known as HDL or "good" cholesterol. Increased levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood may ...
Cholesterol medicines are informally referred to as statins, as all of the generic drug names end in "-statin." These drugs block cholesterol synthesis in the liver. They may also be referred to as HMG CoA reductase inhibitors...
Doctors prescribe statins to lower cholesterol, so if you are considering stopping your daily dose, make sure it's with a physician's permission. Some people stop taking cholesterol medication because of unpleasant side effects...
According to the Mayo Clinic, statins are drugs that may help lower cholesterol. They work by blocking a substance in the liver used to make cholesterol. Statins may also assist in the body reabsorbing cholesterol in the walls ...
Simvastatin is a cholesterol drug that is prescribed to lower levels of LDL, the form of cholesterol commonly described as "bad." Simvastatin is approved for use in people aged 10 years old and up. The medication should be used...
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that is necessary for the production of cells and hormones in the body; however, when cholesterol levels get too high in the bloodstream, cholesterol can calcify and create plaque. Plaque can con...
Elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood increase the chances of a person developing a heart attack, stroke or peripheral vascular disease. Cholesterol level goals need to be individualized and are set according to a person'...
If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, it is important that you educate yourself on the subject in order to take an active part in lowering your cholesterol levels. Many physicians will prescribe both a change in die...
For the estimated 98 million Americans with high cholesterol, there are several options for lowering their risk for heart disease: diet, exercise and/or medications. Typically, when a patient is first diagnosed with cholesterol...
