Statins are the most common medicine for high cholesterol. They reduce the amount of cholesterol your body makes. You take a tablet once a day.
Statins. Statins are one of the better-known types of cholesterol-lowering drugs. Providers choose these for the majority of people because they work well. Statins decrease cholesterol output by blocking the HMG CoA reductase enzyme that the liver uses to make cholesterol.
As a general guide, total cholesterol levels should be: 5mmol/L or less for healthy adults. 4mmol/L or less for those at high risk.
High cholesterol levels are considered: too high: between 5 and 6.4mmol/l. very high: between 6.5 and 7.8mmol/l. extremely high: above 7.8mmol/l.
A person is considered at high risk for developing heart disease if their total cholesterol level is higher than 240 mg/dL, LDL levels are higher than 160 mg/dL (190 mg/dL is even higher risk), and if the HDL level is below 40 mg/dL.
If you've made lifestyle changes through diet and exercise that have lowered your cholesterol levels, you may not need to continue taking a statin. These changes can help reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, or blocked arteries while allowing you to take one less medication.
Bempedoic Acid: A Statin Alternative to Reduce Cholesterol
Bempedoic acid is sold under the brand name Nexletol on its own and as a combination drug with ezetimibe called Nexlizet.
By Lauran Neergaard • Published March 6, 2023
shows the cholesterol-lowering drug Nexletol made by Esperion Therapeutics Inc. Drugs known as statins are the first-choice treatment for high cholesterol but millions of people who can't or won't take those pills because of side effects may have another option.
A newer drug called Nexletol was approved in 2020 by the FDA to treat high cholesterol, but the new study published in NEJM shows that the drug also reduces the risk of heart disease. Researchers believe this data supports using Nexletol as a safe and effective alternative for many people who cannot take statins.
Statin drugs lower LDL cholesterol by slowing down the liver's production of cholesterol. They also increase the liver's ability to remove LDL cholesterol that is already in the blood. Bile acid sequestrants help remove cholesterol from the bloodstream by removing bile acids.
A systematic review of 75 clinical trials found that rosuvastatin and atorvastatin were the only statins that lowered LDL cholesterol by more than 40% (hence, they're the only “high-intensity” statins).
Fear of side effects and perceived side effects are the most common reasons for declining or discontinuing statin therapy. Willingness to take a statin is high, among both patients who have declined statin therapy and those who have never been offered one.
Statin use is associated with increased calorie intake and consequent weight gain. It is speculated that statin‐dependent improvements in lipid profile may undermine the perceived need to follow lipid‐lowering and other dietary recommendations leading consequently to increased calorie intake.
Grapefruit juice is the only food or drink that has a direct interaction with statins. Statins do not directly interact with any food but people taking statins should moderate their intake of saturated fats to help lower their LDL cholesterol and overall risk of cardiovascular disease.
Most people can lower high cholesterol with lifestyle changes, like prioritizing heart-healthy foods, quitting tobacco products, exercising regularly, and sleeping enough. Making changes to lower your cholesterol might mean you don't need to take cholesterol medication anymore (or deal with the side effects).
Nothing in the current research suggests that garlic is anywhere near as effective as statin drugs in treating high cholesterol. As promising as some of the evidence may sound, self-treating a condition like high cholesterol is likely to cause more harm than good.
A: Yes. There have been several clinical studies — many of them done here at Cleveland Clinic — that show statins can reverse plaque buildup. Two statins in particular, atorvastatin, which is sold under the brand name Lipitor, and rosuvastatin, which is sold under the brand name Crestor, are the strongest statins.
Levels between 70 and 189 mg/dL (3.9 and 10.5 mmol/l) are most often considered too high if: You have diabetes and are between ages 40 and 75. You have diabetes and a high risk of heart disease. You have a medium or high risk of heart disease.
Total cholesterol of 5.8mmols/l is higher than recommended, but could be reduced with simple diet and lifestyle changes rather than medical treatment. Medical treatment would only be appropriate if the level was much higher.
Total cholesterol levels should be lower than 5.5 mmol/L, if you have no other risk factors. If you have cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, pre-existing cardiovascular (heart) disease or diabetes, or you smoke, the aim for LDL cholesterol levels would be less than 2 mmol/L.