Here are the basics about each of the medicines below. Only the most common reactions are listed. Ask your doctor if you need to take any special steps. Use each of these as advised by your doctor or the booklet they came with. Call your doctor if you have any questions.
Medicine is often used with changes to your diet and other lifestyle habits. The reasons to start medicines are based on your overall risk of heart disease as well as age, weight, family history, or other health problems.
Selective Cholesterol Absorption Inhibitors
Common names:
Statins lower bad and total cholesterol, and triglycerides. It slows how the body makes it. This lowers the risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.
Some problems are:
Common names:
Bile acid sequestrants lower cholesterol levels by changing the way the body uses cholesterol.
Some problems are:
Niacin is a B vitamin that lowers cholesterol and triglyceride levels when taken in higher doses. It slows how the body makes it.
Some problems are:
Common names:
Fibric acid derivatives are used to lower triglyceride and raise good cholesterol levels. They may also help lower the amount of bad cholesterol.
Some problems are:
Ezetimibe
Ezetimibe lowers both total and bad cholesterol. It lowers the amount of cholesterol that your body absorbs.
Some problems are:
If you are taking medicine:
Grundy SM, Stone NJ, Bailey AL, et al. 2018 AHA/ACC/AACVPR/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/ADA/AGS/APhA/ASPC/NLA/PCNA guideline on the management of blood cholesterol. Circulation. 2018;Nov 10 [Epub ahead of print]. Available at: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000625.
Hypercholesterolemia. EBSCO DynaMed Plus website. Available at:http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T114250/Hypercholesterolemia. Updated April 16, 2019. Accessed May 28, 2019.
Hypertriglyceridemia. EBSCO DynaMed Plus website. Available at:http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T115419/Hypertriglyceridemia. Updated November 28, 2018. Accessed May 28, 2019.
Navarese EP, Robinson JG, Kowalewski M, et al. Association between baseline LDL-C level and total and cardiovascular mortality after LDL-C lowering. JAMA. 2018;319(15):1566-1579.
Prevention and treatment of high cholesterol (hyperlipidemia). American Heart Association website. Available at: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cholesterol/prevention-and-treatment-of-high-cholesterol-hyperlipidemia. Accessed May 28, 2019.
Last reviewed March 2019 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Marcin Chwistek, MD Last Updated: 5/28/2019