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Are there any prescription treatments for high cholesterol?

High cholesterol—also called hypercholesterolemia—is a condition in which the level of cholesterol in the blood is higher than normal, increasing your risk of heart disease and stroke. When changes in diet and exercise don’t work to bring blood cholesterol levels into a healthy range, doctors most commonly recommend niacin or prescription medication next.

Prescription drugs used to treat high cholesterol include bile-acid resins and statins. Bile-acid resins include cholestyramine (brand name Questran), colesevelam (>WelChol) and colestipol (>Colestid). These drugs work by absorbing blood cholesterol so the body can get rid of it. Bile-acid resins can often reduce levels of LDL-cholesterol—known as "bad cholesterol"—by 10 percent to 20 percent

Examples of statins are lovastatin (>Mevacor), simvastatin (>Zocor), pravastatin (>Pravachol), fluvastatin (>Lescol) and atorvastatin (>Lipitor).These drugs work by lowering the amount of cholesterol made by the body. Statins may lower LDL-cholesterol levels by 20 percent to 60 percent.

Ezetimibe (Zetia) is a newer cholesterol-lowering drug which may be used by itself or in a combination with simvastatin called Vytorin to lower both cholesterol and triglycerides.

Sources:
The Merck Manual of Medical Information: Home Edition. Merck & Co., 1997.
The National Cholesterol Education Program Web Site, National Institutes of Health http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/ncep/index.htm. Last accessed 1/11/2007.
Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach. Appleton & Lange, 1999.
Micromedex® Healthcare Series. Thomson Micromedex, 2007.
“Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program, Adult Treatment Plan (ATP III)” National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/cvd_frameset.htm. last accessed 8/10/01.
Medline Plus. Medline, 2007.
Drug Facts and Comparisons, Facts & Comparisons, 2007.

This answer prepared 8/10/2001.
This information updated 1/11/2007.

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