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What do I need to know about cholesterol?

Your body needs some cholesterol to produce hormones and cell membranes. But too much cholesterol in the blood, a level of 200 mg/dl or above, can make fat plaques coat blood vessel walls, causing hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). As blood vessels narrow, it’s harder for blood to nourish your body, raising the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The good, the bad, and the total
A blood test can easily measure the cholesterol in your blood, in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl). “Good” HDL cholesterol helps your body rid itself of cholesterol and lowers your risk of heart disease. “Bad” LDL cholesterol is the culprit that raises your risk of heart disease. Total cholesterol reflects the amounts of HDL, LDL, and other fats, including triglycerides, in the blood. To stay healthy, keep your HDL high, and your LDL low. As a start, ask your doctor to check your total cholesterol, and you might need your HDL level measured, too.

Pushing levels lower
Inheritance and aging may raise cholesterol levels. People who have diabetes and kidney disease also tend to have high cholesterol. But there’s a lot you can do to help keep your cholesterol under control: Get your cholesterol checked regularly, eat less saturated fat, work out often, lose any extra weight, and don’t smoke.

If these steps don’t do the trick, medications can help:

Bile acid resins (Questran and Cholestid) can lower “bad” (LDL) cholesterol.
Statins (Mevacor, Zocor, Pravachol, Lescol, and Lipitor) cut the amount of cholesterol that’s made in the body, lowering LDL and increasing HDL.
The vitamin niacin can also help cut LDL and raise “good” HDL.

References:

Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach. Appleton & Lange, 1999
Mayo Clinic Family Health Book, William Morrow & Co., 1996.
Merck Manual of Medical Information, Home Edition. Merck & Co., 1997
Drug Facts and Comparisons, Facts & Comparisons, 2007.

This answer prepared 8/10/2001.
This information updated 7/6/2007.

For more information, please see:

Questran
>Cholestid
>Zocor
>Pravachol
>Lescol
>Lipitor

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•	Are there any prescription treatments for high cholesterol?
•	What is an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor?
•	What are the side effects of the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors?
•	Are there any drug interactions with the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors?
•	Are there any drug interactions with niacin?
•	What do I need to know about cholesterol?
•	Are there any interactions with niacin?
•	Why was Baycol withdrawn from the market?
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