Lowering Cholesterol

The goal of treatment for lowering cholesterol is to decrease your low density lipoprotein cholesterol enough to reduce your risk of heart disease or a heart attack. Lowering cholesterol begins with lifestyle changes, such as losing weight and changing your diet. If lifestyle changes alone are not successful in lowering cholesterol, medication such as statins, bile acid sequestrants, and cholesterol absorption inhibitors may be prescribed.

 

Lowering Cholesterol: An Overview

It can take decades for high cholesterol to have a negative effect on your health, although it still does damage even when you don't have any noticeable cholesterol symptoms.
 
If you have high cholesterol, and nothing is done to lower it, you will be at greater risk for serious medical problems later, such as a heart attack or stroke. Therefore, lowering cholesterol is an important issue for anyone's general health. If you have high cholesterol, you will need to take steps to fight it every day, just like you would brush your teeth to fight gum disease.
 
The main goal of high cholesterol treatment is to lower your low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels enough to reduce your risk of developing heart disease or having a heart attack. The higher your risk, the lower your LDL goal will be.
 
(Click High Cholesterol Risk to see what your risk is and what your LDL cholesterol level should be under.)
 
Lowering cholesterol begins with lifestyle changes. If lifestyle changes alone do not lower cholesterol to a desirable level, cholesterol medication may be necessary.
 
For most people, living with high cholesterol is a lifelong journey.
 

Lowering Cholesterol Through Lifestyle Changes

Lifestyle changes are the first line of defense for a person with high cholesterol.
 
 
Lifestyle changes for lowering cholesterol include:
 
  • Changing your diet
  • Losing weight
  • Exercising
  • Quitting smoking or nicotine use.
     
It may take 3 to 6 months before you and your healthcare provider see the full benefit of lifestyle changes on your cholesterol level.
(Lowering Cholesterol Continued: Page 2)
Add this article to your Favorites     Email this article     Print
Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD