Treatments for high cholesterol in people with heart disease
If you already have heart disease, taking a statin can reduce your level of bad cholesterol. This can reduce your chance of dying in the next five years by about one-third. Statins seem to work better than anything else to treat high cholesterol.
The aim of intensive treatment is to get your bad (LDL) cholesterol level down to between 60 mg/dL and 80 mg/dL (cholesterol is measured in milligrams per deciliter, or mg/dL for short) rather than 130 mg/dL to 140 mg/dL, which is the target level for moderate treatment.
Statins are a group of drugs that reduce your risk of having a heart attack or a stroke. They do this by reducing your cholesterol level. In developed countries, people's cholesterol levels are often too high.
There are many different statins available. The most common ones (with their brand names) are:
Statins interfere with the liver's ability to make cholesterol. They do this partly by stopping the work of an enzyme that tells the liver to make more cholesterol. (An enzyme is a substance that triggers a chemical reaction in the body.)
Statins reduce the amount of bad (low-density lipoprotein, or LDL) cholesterol that your liver makes. This causes the level of bad cholesterol in your blood to fall. When this happens the liver thinks your body has a cholesterol shortage, so it takes up more bad cholesterol from your blood. This means there is even less bad cholesterol in your blood to clog up blood vessels.
The more bad cholesterol there is in your blood, the greater your risk of getting atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries). If you get atherosclerosis, fatty deposits (known as plaques) build up in your blood vessels and disrupt the flow of the blood.
If there is less bad (LDL) cholesterol in your blood, the chance that fatty plaques will build up in your blood vessels falls and so does your risk of having a heart attack. (A heart attack happens when a blood vessel is completely blocked by a fatty deposit and blood can't get through to the heart).
Statins also lower levels of triglycerides, the other main lipid circulating in the blood.
Yes, but side effects are rare. As you read these it's important to remember that the chances of having a heart attack due to a raised blood cholesterol that is not treated or properly controlled are much greater than getting one of these side effects.
Some of the possible side effects are:
The aim of intensive treatment is to get your bad (LDL) cholesterol level down to between 60 mg/dL and 80 mg/dL (cholesterol is measured in milligrams per deciliter, or mg/dL for short) rather than 130 mg/dL to 140 mg/dL, which is the target level for moderate treatment.
What are statins?
Statins are a group of drugs that reduce your risk of having a heart attack or a stroke. They do this by reducing your cholesterol level. In developed countries, people's cholesterol levels are often too high.
There are many different statins available. The most common ones (with their brand names) are:
- atorvastatin (Lipitor)
- fluvastatin (Lescol)
- lovastatin (Mevacor)
- pravastatin (Pravachol)
- simvastatin (Zocor).
Why should they work?
Statins interfere with the liver's ability to make cholesterol. They do this partly by stopping the work of an enzyme that tells the liver to make more cholesterol. (An enzyme is a substance that triggers a chemical reaction in the body.)
Statins reduce the amount of bad (low-density lipoprotein, or LDL) cholesterol that your liver makes. This causes the level of bad cholesterol in your blood to fall. When this happens the liver thinks your body has a cholesterol shortage, so it takes up more bad cholesterol from your blood. This means there is even less bad cholesterol in your blood to clog up blood vessels.
The more bad cholesterol there is in your blood, the greater your risk of getting atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries). If you get atherosclerosis, fatty deposits (known as plaques) build up in your blood vessels and disrupt the flow of the blood.
If there is less bad (LDL) cholesterol in your blood, the chance that fatty plaques will build up in your blood vessels falls and so does your risk of having a heart attack. (A heart attack happens when a blood vessel is completely blocked by a fatty deposit and blood can't get through to the heart).
Statins also lower levels of triglycerides, the other main lipid circulating in the blood.
Can they be harmful?
Yes, but side effects are rare. As you read these it's important to remember that the chances of having a heart attack due to a raised blood cholesterol that is not treated or properly controlled are much greater than getting one of these side effects.
Some of the possible side effects are:
- Headaches, feeling sick to your stomach, feeling tired and not sleeping well
- Liver problems
- Muscle pain and muscle damage
- Dying of something else0
- Long-term side effects (these are unclear)
This site is for your information only. For medical advice, consult a health professional.
© BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2004.
