Doctors don't just start you on drugs to treat your high cholesterol simply because you have high cholesterol, instead they evaluate your total health and determine if your cholesterol levels, heart disease proneness, and other risk factors warrant drug therapy interventions. However, if it is determined that your condition warrants a drug therapy intervention, then you will be prescribed a drug from HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitor, Bile Acid Resins, or Fibric Acid Derivatives drug groups.
HMG-CoA
The most common drug prescribed to treat high cholesterol levels in the blood, or hypercholesterolemiahypercholesterolemia, are HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins). This class of drugs is used because they are effective at lowering LDL levels without many side effects. Drugs that fall into this class include:
Altocor
Altoprev
Baycol (which is no longer on the market)
Crestor
Lescol
Lescol XL
Lipitor
Mevacor
Prevachol
Zocor
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors work by inhibiting the body's natural chemical process of creating cholesterol in the liver. By inhibiting this process the overall amount of bad cholesterol in the bloodstream is reduced and your cholesterol levels are then only impacted by the physical amount of cholesterol that is ingested. As this amount can be controlled through adjustments to one's diet, the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors are really only used to help manage those cholesterol levels that the body creates which are not controllable through diet.
If you are prescribed an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, also known as a statin, then you will be required to take one dose of the drug each day. The milligram dosage will depend on your individual cholesterol reduction needs, as well as the brand name of the statin that you have been prescribed. For example, Crestor has a recommended dosage level between 5 and 40 mg and has the ability to lower your LDL levels by 45-63%, while Lescol has a recommended dosage of 20-80mg with a potential to only lower your LDL levels by 22-36%. This shows that the brand name, or statin class, that you are prescribed will depend on how much you need to lower your LDL levels.
You should also be aware that some drugs will interact severely with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. If you take antacids, cyclosporine, erythomycin, gemfibrozil, niacin, or warfarin, then you should consult with your doctor about possible side effects and negative interactions that these drugs could have with your high cholesterol drug treatment(s), and ask your physician or health care professional if there are warning signs that you should look for.
Other things that you should avoid while taking an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor are grapefruit and grapefruit juice. The chemicals found in the grapefruit reduce the body's ability to eliminate statins from the bloodstream, and if you eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice regularly while you are taking an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, then a toxic build up of this drug could occur. This build up can lead to medical complications that could threaten your health.