Triglycerides – less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) is best.HDL cholesterol levels – 60 or higher reduces your risk for heart disease.LDL cholesterol levels – less than 130 is best, but this depends on your risk for heart disease. Also known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, statins are the most common medication that doctors prescribe to treat high cholesterol, according to the American.Total cholesterol level – less than 200 is best, but it depends on your HDL and LDL levels.The following products are considered to be alternative treatments or. Your ideal cholesterol level will depend on your risk for heart disease. High Cholesterol, Familial Heterozygous (27 drugs) High Cholesterol, Familial Homozygous (20 drugs) Hyperlipoproteinemia (128 drugs in 6 topics) Hypertriglyceridemia (26 drugs) Niacin Flush (18 drugs) Sitosterolemia (2 drugs) Alternative treatments for High Cholesterol. Usually, treatment for extreme cholesterol levels start with fiber diets along with exercise routines. When you eat more calories than your body can use, it turns the extra calories into triglycerides.Ĭhanging your lifestyle (diet and exercise) can improve your cholesterol levels, lower LDL and triglycerides, and raise HDL. Cholesterol medication is necessary along with a low-fat and high-fiber diet to reduce cholesterol levels. Triglycerides are another type of fat in your blood. But, if your total cholesterol level is high only because of a high HDL level, you’re probably not at higher risk. This includes high coffee intake, rapid weight loss, cigarette smoking, and psychological stress. Statins can reduce LDL cholesterol in your blood, and they can lower plaque buildup in your arteries, says Dr. These are often the first line of medications we prescribe to patients who are struggling with high cholesterol, says Dr. There are several treatment options for high cholesterol, including other medications and lifestyle changes. It’s always important to eat a low-fat diet, exercise and control your weight. High cholesterol on its own increases risk of heart disease and stroke, but having high blood pressure on top of high cholesterol greatly increases these risks. If you’ve ever taken medication for cholesterol, odds are it was a statin. If your total cholesterol level is high because of a high LDL level, you may be at higher risk of heart disease or stroke. Usually, the first line of treatment for high cholesterol is lifestyle modification, but if you have FH you’ll need more advanced treatment. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is the “bad” cholesterol. It removes cholesterol from the bloodstream. Good cholesterol is known as high-density lipoprotein (HDL). What is the difference between “good” cholesterol and “bad” cholesterol? Too much bad cholesterol (LDL) can be bad for your health. There is “good” (HDL) cholesterol and “bad” (LDL) cholesterol. (1) Non-statin therapies lower LDL cholesterol via different pathways and mechanisms and are often prescribed if you have existing evidence of, or are at high risk for cardiovascular disease, heart attack or stroke. Your body also gets cholesterol from the food you eat. MemorialHermann Specialty Pharmacy offers the two most frequently prescribed non-statin treatment medications, Rephata and Praluent. The medical term for high blood cholesterol is lipid.

Less HDL means there’s less good cholesterol to remove bad cholesterol from your arteries. Too much bad cholesterol can increase your chance of getting heart disease, stroke, and other problems. But still, these misconceptions persist.Cholesterol is a waxy substance your liver makes to protect nerves and to make cell tissue and certain hormones. A sedentary lifestyle lowers HDL cholesterol. Mostly used for lowering triglyceride levels in patients whose levels are very high and could cause. In monitoring people taking statins for decades, we’ve found that they’re safe and most people tolerate them well without any problems. 7 cholesterol-lowering alternatives to statins 1. “In general, there’s been an exaggeration of the dangers of statins,” says Seth Martin, M.D., M.H.S., associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Advanced Lipid Disorders Center. If you’ve already experienced a cardiovascular event, statins are a mainstay of long-term preventive therapy to reduce the chance it will happen again.Īlthough statins benefit those most at risk for cardiovascular disease, many people have concerns about taking this class of drug. Often the first line of therapy after lifestyle changes, statins can reduce the risk of stroke, heart attack and even death from cardiovascular disease by 25 percent or more. Statin drugs are prescription medications that lower cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States.

High cholesterol medication