Lifestyle changes such as exercise and a healthy diet is the first line of defense against high cholesterol. But if you made these changes in lifestyle important and your total cholesterol - particularly your LDL cholesterol - remains high, your doctor may recommend medication.
The specific choice of medication or a combination of drugs depends on several factors, including individual risk factors, age, current health status and possible side effects. The most common options are:
Statins. Statins - the drugs most commonly prescribed for lowering cholesterol - block a substance the liver needs cholesterol. This causes the liver to remove cholesterol in the blood. Statins may also help your body reabsorb cholesterol deposits in arteries can build reverse coronary artery disease. The options are: atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin (Lescol), lovastatin (Altoprev, Mevacor), pravastatin (Pravachol), rosuvastatin (Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor).
Bile acid resins. The liver uses cholesterol to make bile acid, a substance needed for digestion. Drugs cholestyramine (Prevalite, Questran), colesevelam (Welchol) and colestipol (Colestid) lower cholesterol indirectly by binding to bile acids. This encourages your liver to use excess cholesterol to make bile acids, which reduces cholesterol in the blood.
Inhibitors of cholesterol absorption. The small intestine absorbs cholesterol from the diet and released into the blood. Drug ezetimibe (Zetia) helps reduce blood cholesterol by limiting the absorption of dietary cholesterol. Zetia can be used in combination with a statin.
Inhibiting the absorption of cholesterol and statins combination. The combination drug ezetimibe-simvastatin (Vytorin) decreases both absorption of cholesterol in the small intestine and the production of cholesterol in the liver. It is unknown whether Vytorin was more effective in reducing the risk of heart disease that taking simvastatin by itself.
Medicine for high triglycerides
If you also have high triglycerides, your doctor may prescribe:
Fibrates. Drug fenofibrate (Lofibra, Tricor) and gemfibrozil (Lopid) decrease triglycerides by reducing the production of your liver very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol and speeding up the elimination of triglycerides in the blood. VLDL-cholesterol contains mostly triglycerides.
Niacin. Niacin (Niaspan) decreases triglycerides by limiting the liver's ability to produce LDL and VLDL. Prescription and nonprescription niacin is available, but prescription niacin is preferred because it has fewer side effects. Dietary supplements containing niacin are available over the counter are not effective in reducing triglycerides, and can damage your liver.
Omega-3 fatty acid supplements. Supplements of omega-3 fatty acid may help reduce cholesterol. You can take an over-the-counter supplement or your doctor may prescribe Lovaza, a prescription omega-3 fatty acid supplements, because the method of calculation of triglycerides. Lovaza can take another cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins. If you decide to take an over-the-counter supplement, OK to have a doctor first. Omega-3 fatty acid supplements can affect how other medicines you are taking.
The efficiency varies
Most of the cholesterol drugs are well tolerated, but effectiveness varies from person to person. Common side effects include muscle pain, abdominal pain, constipation, nausea and diarrhea. If you decide to take cholesterol medication, your doctor may recommend liver function tests every few months to monitor drug effect on the liver.
Children and cholesterol treatment
Diet and exercise are the best initial treatment for children aged 2 years and over who have high cholesterol or are overweight. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends treatment with prescription drugs such as statins, for children 8 years and over, if a child has a high level of LDL cholesterol. But this recommendation is controversial. The long-term effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs have not been well studied in children. In addition, certain cholesterol-lowering drugs such as niacin is not recommended for children. Because of the disagreement in the medical community on this subject, talk to your child's doctor about the best way to lower cholesterol in your child.
The specific choice of medication or a combination of drugs depends on several factors, including individual risk factors, age, current health status and possible side effects. The most common options are:
Statins. Statins - the drugs most commonly prescribed for lowering cholesterol - block a substance the liver needs cholesterol. This causes the liver to remove cholesterol in the blood. Statins may also help your body reabsorb cholesterol deposits in arteries can build reverse coronary artery disease. The options are: atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin (Lescol), lovastatin (Altoprev, Mevacor), pravastatin (Pravachol), rosuvastatin (Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor).
Bile acid resins. The liver uses cholesterol to make bile acid, a substance needed for digestion. Drugs cholestyramine (Prevalite, Questran), colesevelam (Welchol) and colestipol (Colestid) lower cholesterol indirectly by binding to bile acids. This encourages your liver to use excess cholesterol to make bile acids, which reduces cholesterol in the blood.
Inhibitors of cholesterol absorption. The small intestine absorbs cholesterol from the diet and released into the blood. Drug ezetimibe (Zetia) helps reduce blood cholesterol by limiting the absorption of dietary cholesterol. Zetia can be used in combination with a statin.
Inhibiting the absorption of cholesterol and statins combination. The combination drug ezetimibe-simvastatin (Vytorin) decreases both absorption of cholesterol in the small intestine and the production of cholesterol in the liver. It is unknown whether Vytorin was more effective in reducing the risk of heart disease that taking simvastatin by itself.
Medicine for high triglycerides
If you also have high triglycerides, your doctor may prescribe:
Fibrates. Drug fenofibrate (Lofibra, Tricor) and gemfibrozil (Lopid) decrease triglycerides by reducing the production of your liver very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol and speeding up the elimination of triglycerides in the blood. VLDL-cholesterol contains mostly triglycerides.
Niacin. Niacin (Niaspan) decreases triglycerides by limiting the liver's ability to produce LDL and VLDL. Prescription and nonprescription niacin is available, but prescription niacin is preferred because it has fewer side effects. Dietary supplements containing niacin are available over the counter are not effective in reducing triglycerides, and can damage your liver.
Omega-3 fatty acid supplements. Supplements of omega-3 fatty acid may help reduce cholesterol. You can take an over-the-counter supplement or your doctor may prescribe Lovaza, a prescription omega-3 fatty acid supplements, because the method of calculation of triglycerides. Lovaza can take another cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins. If you decide to take an over-the-counter supplement, OK to have a doctor first. Omega-3 fatty acid supplements can affect how other medicines you are taking.
The efficiency varies
Most of the cholesterol drugs are well tolerated, but effectiveness varies from person to person. Common side effects include muscle pain, abdominal pain, constipation, nausea and diarrhea. If you decide to take cholesterol medication, your doctor may recommend liver function tests every few months to monitor drug effect on the liver.
Children and cholesterol treatment
Diet and exercise are the best initial treatment for children aged 2 years and over who have high cholesterol or are overweight. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends treatment with prescription drugs such as statins, for children 8 years and over, if a child has a high level of LDL cholesterol. But this recommendation is controversial. The long-term effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs have not been well studied in children. In addition, certain cholesterol-lowering drugs such as niacin is not recommended for children. Because of the disagreement in the medical community on this subject, talk to your child's doctor about the best way to lower cholesterol in your child.
No comments:
Post a Comment