How To Treat High Cholesterol

What About The Cost

Some medicines are available as generics, which cost less. If prescriptions arepart of your health insurance plan, ask about the cost to you. If you need helppaying for cholesterol medicines, there may be a program for you. Contact thePartnership for Prescription Assistance. Web site: pparx.org. Phone:888-477-2669.

How High Cholesterol Medication Is Used

The treatment of high cholesterol is a two-pronged approach focused on lowering bad LDL cholesterol and increasing good HDL cholesterol.

Your healthcare provider will typically recommend treatment with high cholesterol medications, aimed at lowering your total cholesterol and, more specifically, your LDL levels. An elevated total cholesterol level is usually defined as a level above 200 milligrams per deciliter , or an LDL level above 130 mg/dL, but these cutoffs may vary based on your risk for coronary artery disease. In general, lower is better when it comes to LDL cholesterol.

Statin medications are often the first medications used for high cholesterol. Therapy with statins is divided into low-, medium-, and high-intensity levels. The higher the intensity level, the greater the targeted reduction in LDL levels.

Depending on the severity of your high cholesterol levels, other cholesterol-lowering medication may also be prescribed.

Limit Your Alcohol Intake

Alcohol can increase your levels of triglycerides. Along with LDL cholesterol, high levels of triglycerides raise your risk of heart disease.

Excess alcohol consumption also increases blood pressure and can lead to obesity both additional risk factors for heart disease.

To reduce the risk of heart disease and other risks from alcohol, limit your intake to no more than 10 standard drinks per week and no more than 4 drinks per day.

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Ways To Prevent High Cholesterol

You can prevent high cholesterol the same way you can help lower itby living a healthy lifestyle focused on a heart-healthy diet and exercise. Other strategies that can help prevent high cholesterol include:

• Quitting smoking
• Getting enough good quality sleep
• Limit alcohol intake

However, if you have familial hypercholesterolemia, you may not be able to prevent it. You can work with your doctor to detect it early and manage it to prevent complications.

Signs And Symptoms Of High Cholesterol

High cholesterol on its own doesn’t usually cause symptoms. People often don’t realize they have high cholesterol until they get tested. However, the complications that high cholesterol causes do. As arteries and other blood vessels narrow and blood flow is slowed or stopped, every part of your body can be affected.

Uncontrolled high cholesterol can lead to the following complications:

• Atherosclerosis, which is a buildup of fatty deposits in your blood vessels
• Carotid artery disease, which is narrowing of the blood vessels in the neck that carry blood from the heart to the brain
• Coronary heart disease, which is damage or disease in the heart’s major blood vessels
• Heart attack
• Peripheral artery disease, which is narrowing or blockage of the vessels that carry blood from the heart to the legs
• Stroke

Symptoms of these complications can include:

• Dizziness
• Fatty deposits of cholesterol visible from under the skin called xanthelasmas

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Foods That Fight High Cholesterol

It’s easy to eat your way to an alarmingly high cholesterol level. And the reverse is true too changing what you eat can lower your cholesterol and improve the composition of the armada of fats floating through your bloodstream. Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and “good fats” are all part of a heart-healthy diet. But some foods are particularly good at helping bring down cholesterol.

How? Some cholesterol-lowering foods deliver a good dose of soluble fiber, which binds cholesterol and its precursors in the digestive system and drags them out of the body before they get into circulation. Others provide polyunsaturated fats, which directly lower LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. And those with plant sterols and stanols keep the body from absorbing cholesterol. Here are 5 of those foods:

Oats. An easy way to start lowering cholesterol is to choose oatmeal or an oat-based cold cereal like Cheerios for breakfast. It gives you 1 to 2 grams of soluble fiber. Add a banana or some strawberries for another half-gram.

Beans. Beans are especially rich in soluble fiber. They also take a while for the body to digest, meaning you feel full for longer after a meal. That’s one reason beans are a useful food for folks trying to lose weight. With so many choices from navy and kidney beans to lentils, garbanzos, black-eyed peas, and beyond and so many ways to prepare them, beans are a very versatile food.

Lower Ldl Levels Are Better

In a JAMA editorial accompanying the study, Christopher P. Cannon, MD, of Brigham and Womens Hospital and Harvard Medical School wrote that aggressive LDL lowering is the ideal lower is better.

The JAMA studys findings echo those of another large 4,162-patient study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It concluded that LDL cholesterol levels of 62 were even better than levels of 95 at preventing death, heart attacks, and other cardiovascular-related problems in people with heart disease.

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How Can I Lower My Cholesterol With Medicines

As well as making lifestyle changes, some people will need to take cholesterol-lowering medicines to reduce their risk of heart and blood vessel disease, known as cardiovascular disease. The medicines most commonly used are called statins.

Your doctor will consider all your risk factors for cardiovascular disease before suggesting medication not just your cholesterol and lipid results. If youve already had a heart attack or stroke, taking statins can substantially lower your risk of having another one.

Statins work by slowing the amount of cholesterol made in your liver. In response, your liver uses the cholesterol already in your blood to make up for the deficit. This lowers the level of LDL cholesterol in your blood.

If statins alone do not lower your cholesterol enough, you may need additional medicines.

Contact your doctor if your medicines are causing any side effects.

Putting Together A Low Cholesterol Diet

When it comes to investing money, experts recommend creating a portfolio of diverse investments instead of putting all your eggs in one basket. The same holds true for eating your way to lower cholesterol. Adding several foods to lower cholesterol in different ways should work better than focusing on one or two.

A largely vegetarian “dietary portfolio of cholesterol-lowering foods” substantially lowers LDL, triglycerides, and blood pressure. The key dietary components are plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains instead of highly refined ones, and protein mostly from plants. Add margarine enriched with plant sterols oats, barley, psyllium, okra, and eggplant, all rich in soluble fiber soy protein and whole almonds.

Of course, shifting to a cholesterol-lowering diet takes more attention than popping a daily statin. It means expanding the variety of foods you usually put in your shopping cart and getting used to new textures and flavors. But it’s a “natural” way to lower cholesterol, and it avoids the risk of muscle problems and other side effects that plague some people who take statins.

Just as important, a diet that is heavy on fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts is good for the body in ways beyond lowering cholesterol. It keeps blood pressure in check. It helps arteries stay flexible and responsive. It’s good for bones and digestive health, for vision and mental health.

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Setting Your Cholesterol Goal

The target for your bad cholesterol depends on your risk factors for heartdisease. Risk factors are things that increase your chance of having a heart attackor stroke. If you have more risk factors, your doctor or nurse will recommend alower target for your bad cholesterol. Talk with your doctor or nurse about settingyour cholesterol goal.

Exercise Regularly On Most Days Of The Week And Aim For Increased Activity

Exercising regularly can help lower high cholesterol levels. Moderate physical movement can help raise high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, the good cholesterol. With your doctors consent, you can work up at least 30 minutes of activity, five times a week, or go for vigorous aerobic exercise for 20 minutes, three times a week.

Including physical action even in short interims, a few times a day can enable you to start getting in shape. Consider:

• Going for a lively everyday stroll during your lunch hours.
• Riding your bicycle to work.
• Playing the most beloved game.
• To remain spurred, think about finding an activity partner or joining an activity gathering.

• 3. Garlic

High cholesterol or hypercholesterolemia does not have a clear significant but it seriously affects the body. Too much cholesterol can lead to the accumulation of plaque in the arteries, known as atherosclerosis. These plaques block blood vessels leading to heart attack and stroke. Thus, before you have to face the complications, here are a few natural home remedies for high cholesterol levels that will help deal with this condition effectively. These natural remedies may help you a lot without causing side effects. Keep reading!

• How to maintain a healthy heart rate & prevent heart disease

What Is Cholesterol?

In the liver, cholesterol combined with the protein that produces two types of cholesterol is LDL and HDL and is transported into the bloodstream.

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Common Do & Dont For Reducing High Cholesterol

Here are some common do and dont to alleviate the harmful effects of high cholesterol:

High cholesterol is as dangerous as it is vexing. It impedes you from living life to the fullest. If you wish to alleviate high cholesterol levels and its risks completely, you have to start making changes to your lifestyle and take care of your health by monitoring it consistently.

This includes observing your calorie intake, how much of it do you burn, the foods that you eat, etc. By adopting a holistic approach from the first day that you can hope to counteract the ill effects of high cholesterol risks.

High cholesterol levels and their effects on your life can be far-reaching. As such, you are advised to maintain a healthy diet regimen and make certain changes to your lifestyle changes to derive the maximum benefits and make sure that you start seeing positive changes in your life.

High cholesterol is a very serious matter and can turn fatal if not heeded to. It is advisable that you always keep in mind that you have to be responsible towards your body and do everything in your power to alleviate the symptoms of high cholesterol by conducting the above-mentioned practices on a regular basis.

However, if you feel that none of the remedial measures and lifestyle changes described above seems to work for you, please consult a dietitian or a doctor to know more about the possible next steps that you have to take.

Getting A Cholesterol Test

A blood sample is taken that will be used to determine the amount of bad cholesterol , good cholesterol and other fatty substances in your blood.

You may be asked not to eat for 10-12 hours before the cholesterol test, usually including when you’re asleep at night. This ensures that all food is completely digested and won’t affect the outcome of the test.

Your GP or practice nurse can carry out the cholesterol test and will take a blood sample, either using a needle and a syringe or by pricking your finger.

A newer type of test that measures non-high-density lipoprotein is now sometimes used because it’s thought to be a more accurate way of estimating cardiovascular disease risk than LDL.

Non-HDL cholesterol is total cholesterol minus HDL cholesterol. It’s also not necessary to fast before the test, so it is more convenient.

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Cure : Herbal Remedies For High Cholesterol

Herbal remedies have long been linked to promoting health and alleviating a host of ill effects of many diseases because of their inherent anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and immune-stimulating effects. A regulated and consistent practice of consuming the right herbs can help allay high cholesterol risks. If you are wondering about what to do for high cholesterol, here are a few effective herbs for high cholesterol that can help you in that regard.

Replace Saturated Fats With Healthier Fats

Replacing foods that contain mainly saturated fats with foods that contain unsaturated fats such as polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats will help reduce your cholesterol level.

For example, instead of butter and cream in cooking, use olive oil, nut butters or avocado.

Healthy unsaturated fats are found in:

• nuts
• olives
• oily fish
• avocado

• fruits and vegetables

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In contrast, LDL is high in cholesterol and promotes the formation of plaque on the walls of the arteries in general and coronary arteries in particular . These plaque blocks or narrows the blood vessels feeding the heart muscle, causing heart attacks. The higher the LDL level, the higher the risk of developing coronary artery disease.

What Is High Cholesterol Level?

Cholesterol is produced by the body itself, so any amount of cholesterol we eat is redundant. When the excess cholesterol in the blood is too high, it becomes fatty in the arteries and obstructs blood flow in the arteries. Then the amount of oxygen in the blood will not provide enough for the heart and so the risk of heart attack will increase. When blood runs to the brain, it can cause a stroke. Hypercholesterolemia does not show any signs of disease. It is only detected by blood tests.

Side Effects Of Cholesterol Medications

To minimize side effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs, its important to take them in the manner prescribed. Because some cholesterol-lowering drugs affect your liver, you may need to have your liver function tested occasionally.

Let your doctor know if you have any problems after starting a new medication. They may be able to adjust your dosage or switch you to an alternative medication.

Contact your doctor immediately if your symptoms are severe or seem life-threatening.

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Symptoms Of High Cholesterol

Often, there are no specific symptoms of high cholesterol. You could have high cholesterol and not know it.

If you have high cholesterol, your body may store the extra cholesterol in your arteries. These are blood vessels that carry blood from your heart to the rest of your body. A buildup of cholesterol in your arteries is known as plaque. Over time, plaque can become hard and make your arteries narrow. Large deposits of plaque can completely block an artery. Cholesterol plaques can also break apart, leading to formation of a blood clot that blocks the flow of blood.

A blocked artery to the heart can cause a heart attack. A blocked artery to your brain can cause a stroke.

Many people dont discover that they have high cholesterol until they suffer one of these life-threatening events. Some people find out through routine check-ups that include blood tests.

Eating Healthy But Your Ldl Is Still High

If you have transitioned to a whole food, plant-based diet and still have high LDL, you may want to take a closer look at your family history, diet, and lifestyle.

Most cases of high cholesterol are not caused by a single inherited condition but result from a combination of lifestyle choices and the effects of variations in many genes. Familial hypercholesterolemia occurs because of a genetic defect on chromosome 19. Its an inherited disorder that makes it harder for your body to remove LDL cholesterol from your blood. However, your genes are not your destiny, and the first line of treatment for FH is lifestyle modification.

Lower Your Fat Intake

Exercise

Being physically active is another way to maintain healthy cholesterol levels, particularly for strength training, aerobics, and high-intensity exercise such as HIIT . However, even low-intensity exercise has been shown to increase HDLs anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capabilities. Exercise can also help to lower LDL cholesterol when combined with dietary changes and weight loss.

Diet or Statins?

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Eat To Lower Your Cholesterol

Cholesterol isnt all bad news. Follow these tips to lower your cholesterol, the natural way.

Chances are, youve heard a thing or two about cholesterol. Having high blood cholesterol is a risk factor for developing heart disease.

But did you know that you can reduce your cholesterol level by making smart food choices? Its true!

Cholesterol clarified

Before we get to the details, lets be clear on what were talking about. For years, cholesterol has had a bad rep that it doesnt really deserve. The truth is, we need cholesterol to function. Your body makes most of the cholesterol it needs. The rest comes from foods you eat.

Heres the important thing: Dietary cholesterol found in meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products has less impact on increasing your blood cholesterol level. Foods that contain lots of saturated fat are the true culprits.

Now heres how to make nutritious choices to lower your blood cholesterol.

Keep eating simple

In the last 20 years, the rules on healthy eating have shifted. Super restrictive diets arent sustainable or the healthiest choice. Rather than zeroing in on a single nutrient, nutrition research shows the quality of your diet matters more. A diet filled with the right portions of whole, unprocessed foods can help decrease heart disease and stroke. What does that look like? For a healthy, balanced eating plan:

Cook at home

Choose more fibre

Each of these options will provide you with two grams:

• ½ ripe avocado

Ldl Cholesterol Or Bad Cholesterol

LDL cholesterol is often called bad cholesterol. It carries cholesterol to your arteries. If your levels of LDL cholesterol are too high, it can build up on the walls of your arteries.

This buildup is also known as cholesterol plaque. This plaque can narrow your arteries, limit your blood flow, and raise your risk of blood clots. If a blood clot blocks an artery in your heart or brain, it can cause a heart attack or stroke.

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