Medicine To Lower Cholesterol

If diet and exercise don’t lower cholesterol your doctor is likely to prescribe medicine to lower cholesterol with Lipitor being one of the most common choices.  Drugs that reduce cholesterol are statins.

Lipitor blocks the production of cholesterol in the body and it is used to reduce LDL as well as triglycerides which is another type of fat.  Lipitor helps increase the level of HDL or good cholesterol while reducing the LDL.  All are important to preventing heart disease, hardening of the arteries, stroke, and heart attack, as well as peripheral vascular disease.

In rare cases Lipitor can cause muscle problems.  It has also bee associated with liver problems on the rare occasion.  If you experience muscle pain or flu like symptoms it is important that you see your doctor.  Same goes if your skin or eyes become yellow, you have dark urine, abdominal pain, or unexplained fatigue.  You should never take Lipitor unless under the direction of your doctor.

Take Lipitor as; prescribed by your doctor.  If you don’t understand the directions ask your pharmacist to explain again. You should always take with a full glass of water and you can take with food or without food.  Usually I is taken once a day and it should be taken at the same time each day.

Your doctor will want to run a liver test every 6 months to ensure proper liver function.  As long as your liver function remains normal you will be able to continue on your treatment plan.  If you have side effects there are other statin drugs that can be tried. 

To get the full benefit of Lipitor you need to also avoid fatty foods, and high cholesterol foods.  You also need to take it regularly and often long term to keep your cholesterol under control.  Some people even though they do all the right things when it comes to diet, thanks to genetics still have an unhealthy level of LDL or triglycerides.

It is important that you do not eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice without talking to your doctor because it can lead to dangerous side effects.  You should also avoid alcohol while on Lipitor.

One in five people has high cholesterol. In adults, total cholesterol levels from 200 to 239 mg/dL are considered borderline-high and levels of 240 mg/dL or more are considered high which must be treated.  A healthy artery has no obstruction but when too much cholesterol builds up in the artery walls it forms a thick deposit of plague. 

The plaque narrows the arteries which makes the heart have to work harder but even this isn’t as dangerous as when a piece of plaque breaks off which then forms a clot that can block the artery which results in a heart attack or stroke depending on where the blockage occurs.

Heart disease is called the silent killer because often there are no symptoms so we go through life unknowing until we have a heart attack or stroke and then if we are lucky enough to survive we are stunned that it has happened to us.

Have your cholesterol levels checked regularly and if the levels are high make the necessary changes to diet, exercise, and medicine to lower cholesterol.