Done Cholesterol Test, Do Not Want To Take Statin

Posted on Fri, 28 Sep 2012

Question: Hello, I am a 54 year female. Just received a cholestrol reading of 263, LDL 154, HDL 92. My blood pressure is 110/70. I work out roughly four times per week. I really don't want to go on a statin. In the past my physician has worked with me on this. In 2011 cholestrol was 246, LDL 133 and HDL was 89.

Answered by Dr. Arnab Maji (1 hour later)

Hi XXXXXXX

Thanks for your query.

At these levels, a modification of the dietary habits would be definitely required if you don’t want a statin. You need to have plenty of fruits and vegetables, drink 3-4 litres of water in a day and limit the intake of following:
Dairy, nuts, oil, full fat food, red meat, all fried food and junk food like pizzas, fries, etc.
Also, is there a specific reason why you don’t want to receive a statin? If you have nothing against medical therapy as such, we could try other drugs in you but their side effect profile is more or less similar to a statin. These drugs would include ezetimibe, orlistat etc.
If after the dietary modifications for 6-8 weeks, your total cholesterol levels do not come down below 240, we would need to start treatment. This is a risk factor for heart disease which should not go untreated.
Let me know if you have any more concerns.

Best Regards,
Dr Arnab Maji

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Aparna Kohli