Cholesterol Lowering Drugs

A comprehensive review on cholesterol lowering drugs. - How do they lower your high cholesterol levels. Get to know here.

Indeed, cholesterol lowering drugs are the ‘help of choice’ if lifestyle changes do not work. They are good at lowering cholesterol levels, but with a very high cost.

Anyway, the following information is to educate yourself on the drugs you may probably be using to alleviate and cure your situation.

Now, you must understand that for a better understanding of how the cholesterol lowering drugs work, they are usually grouped in five categories

In the first category are included statins, which are the drugs of first choice prescribed to lower cholesterol. Statins inhibit HMG_CoA reductase. This is an enzyme which adopts the cholesterol production to the fast needs of the body.

Thus, by inhibiting this enzyme, statins can lower LDL-cholesterol levels in a period of time shorter than other drugs do. Also they can give a hand on reducing triglycerides levels and increasing HDL-cholesterol levels.

The statins mostly prescribed are Lescol, Lipitor, Mevacor, Zocor, Pravachol, Crestor.

The second category involves those drugs which bind themselves to the bile acid in the small intestines that carry cholesterol. Thus the body gets free of cholesterol in the bowl motion, without being absorbed and got into the circulation.

These drugs are called bile acid sequestrants. Some clinical trials have shown that these drugs can diminish the risk for heart disease.

The bile acid sequestrants mostly prescribed are Welchol, Questran, Colestid.

The third category consists of niacin, or commonly known as Vitamin B3. This nicotinic acid in very high doses can increase HDL-cholesterol levels, and decrease LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides levels.

Niacin can be prescribed together with bile acid sequestrants drugs when the levels of triglycerides are higher than 250mg/dl, because these drugs can elevate the triglycerides level.

The other category comprises fibrates, which principally reduce triglycerides levels. In a moderate rate they can decrease even LDL-cholesterol levels, but is not commonly used for this intention. FDA has allowed only probucol to be used for this purpose.

Some commonly prescribed fibrates are Lopid, Tricor, Atromid.

The last category includes all those drugs prescribed by your physician to cure other health problems you may probably have. So, if you have heart disease, you’ll need to treat it. Or maybe you may have diabetes or liver problems. Even in these cases you’ll need to treat all these conditions.

Or maybe, you may face some conditions that will aggravate your situation increasing cholesterol levels. You’ll have to treat all them together too.

Remember: all these cholesterol lowering drugs are very good at alleviating your situation. But that is not enough.

Your good willing of changing your lifestyle habits, being physically active and following the right cholesterol diet plan; all these will help you to get through your battle against high cholesterol.

Or you can try a natural supplement to lower your cholesterol by 14 points. Click here to get to know how.

In case you want to have the entire list of cholesterol lowering drugs, you can click here.

If you still want to have more info on the drugs that lower cholesterol, click here.