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High Cholesterol - Medications
- Overview
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- Cause
- Symptoms
- What Happens
- What Increases Your Risk
- When to Call a Doctor
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- Treatment Overview
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Statins are the medicines used the most often to treat high cholesterol, and they often work the best. They can reduce the risk for heart attack, stroke, and early death in people who are at high risk for a heart attack or stroke. Other medicines also lower cholesterol, and some may be used to lower triglycerides or raise HDL.
Doctors may also prescribe aspirin therapy if you have had a heart attack or a stroke, or you have a high risk for heart attack or stroke.
Do you need to take medicine? That depends. The decision to use medicine to treat high cholesterol is usually based on your LDL level and your risk for heart attack and stroke.
Medicine is always used along with a diet and exercise plan, not instead of it.
- Some people can try diet and exercise for at least 3 months before they decide if they need medicines.
- People who have coronary artery disease (CAD) should start taking medicines right away.
- You may also need to start on medicine right away if your cholesterol is very high or you have:
- A family history of early CAD.
- An inherited form of high cholesterol.
- Peripheral arterial disease.
- Diabetes.
- High blood pressure.
- Had a heart attack or stroke before.
You and your doctor will decide if you will take medicine for high cholesterol. For more information, see:
One Man's Story: Tony, 57 “I don’t mind taking a pill a day. As long as it’s doing me some good. And I no longer have any doubts about that.”—Tony Read more about Tony and how medicine helps him keep his cholesterol low. |
Side effects are more likely and may be worse when you use higher doses of statins. Talk to your doctor if side effects bother you. You may be able to take a different medicine or a different dose.
Be sure to tell your doctor everything you take for high cholesterol, even herbs or other supplements or treatments. Sometimes they can interact with other medicines and cause problems.
Medication Choices
The following medicines can be used to lower LDL and triglyceride levels in the blood and to raise HDL. These are not complete lists of all medicines that are available.
| Generic names | Brand names | How they work |
|---|---|---|
| atorvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, simvastatin, fluvastatin, rosuvastatin | Reduce how much cholesterol your body makes |
Some statins are combined with another medicine into one pill.
| Generic names | Brand names | How they work |
|---|---|---|
atorvastatin with amlodipine | Lower how much cholesterol your body makes and lower blood pressure | |
lovastatin with niacin | Raise good (HDL) cholesterol and lower bad (LDL) cholesterol | |
simvastatin with ezetimibe | Lower how much cholesterol your body makes and the amount of cholesterol your body absorbs | |
simvastatin with niacin | Raise good (HDL) cholesterol and lower bad (LDL) cholesterol |
Your doctor may prescribe other medicines. Some are used with a statin.
Type of drug | Generic names | Brand names | How they work |
|---|---|---|---|
| cholestyramine, colestipol, colesevelam | Questran, Colestid, Welchol | Lower the amount of LDL cholesterol in your blood | |
| gemfibrozil, fenofibrate | Lopid, Tricor | Lower triglycerides and can raise good (HDL) cholesterol. LDL may go up slightly. | |
| niacin | Niacor, Niaspan | Raise HDL cholesterol and lower triglycerides and LDL | |
| ezetimibe | Zetia | Lower how much cholesterol your body can absorb |
What to think about
If you do take medicine, it is important to use it the right way. See the topic Taking Medicines as Prescribed.
To help you decide whether medicine to lower cholesterol is right for you, see:
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: April 22, 2011 |
| Medical Review: | E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine Carl Orringer, MD - Cardiology, Clinical Lipidology | |
© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
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