

Work with your care team to make sure you get your cholesterol down to a level that will keep you healthy for the rest of your life. Some of these foods like nuts and fruits are also high in calories, so moderation is always advisable. If you have side effects or concerns, talk with your care team before making any Some food groups may be beneficial in directly lowering cholesterol levels and include foods with plant sterol additives, high fiber foods like bran, oatmeal, and fruits like apples and pears, fish, nuts, and olive oil. That’s the only way to make sure they work as intended. No matter which medication your health care team prescribes, take your medications exactly as directed.

Cholesterol absorption inhibitors (ezetimibe) to lower the amount of cholesterol in the blood.Other non-statin medications used to lower LDL-cholesterol include: Prescribe an alternative dosing schedule.Lower the dose of the statin you are taking.Order a blood test to find out if there may be another cause of your symptoms.Though side effects are not common, your doctor may decide to: Preventing plaque from dislodging or forming a clot that may block an arteryĪs with any medication, it is important to tell your doctor about any side effects or problems from statins.Reducing the amount of cholesterol made by the liver.ThereĪre at least seven statins available, and they work in different ways for example by: Research has shown that the use of statins can reduce the risk of cardiac events like heart attack, stroke and related death. Resins bind to bile so your body can’t absorb it. Resins help you trick your body into using its cholesterol to produce more bile. Statins – in combination with lifestyle changes – are still the drug treatment of choice. Here’s how: Your body needs cholesterol to make bile. This is especially true for people with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or those who are at high risk for developing it. All copyrighted material is the property of its respective owners and may not be reprinted without their permission.Many people who have excess LDL cholesterol also need to take medicine to lower their cholesterol levels at some point. Please credit the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health as the source. CopyrightĬontent is in the public domain and may be reprinted, except if marked as copyrighted (©). NCCIH is 1 of 27 institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health, the Federal focal point for medical research in the United States.

For additional information, call NCCIH’s Clearinghouse toll-free at 1-88, or visit the NCCIH website at. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health is dedicated to exploring complementary health products and practices in the context of rigorous science, training complementary health researchers, and disseminating authoritative information to the public and professionals. Statins are a class of drugs that work in the liver to prevent cholesterol from forming. The main ones the patients really need to know about are called statins.

NCCIH Clinical Digest, a monthly e-newsletter, offers evidence-based information on complementary health approaches, including scientific literature searches, summaries of NCCIH-funded research, fact sheets for patients, and more. Medication Options for Treating High Cholesterol There are many different types of medicines that we can use to lower patient’s cholesterol levels, says Dr. NCCIH Clinical Digest is a service of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH, DHHS.
