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Have High Cholesterol. Suggest Medication?
Posted on
Wed, 16 Oct 2013
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Wed, 16 Oct 2013
Answered on
Thu, 7 Nov 2013
Last reviewed on
Question : I have high cholesterol for last 6 months. Please advice best medication. Below is my blood test result.
Cholesterol - 276 mg/dl
Triglyceride - 139 mg/dl
LDL - 208 mg/dl
HDL - 59 mg/dl
Vldl - 28 mg/dl
Cholesterol - 276 mg/dl
Triglyceride - 139 mg/dl
LDL - 208 mg/dl
HDL - 59 mg/dl
Vldl - 28 mg/dl
Brief Answer:
Life style changes AND drugs are necessary
Detailed Answer:
Hi friend,
Welcome to Health Care Magic
There are subdivisions of cholesterol – LDL, HDL and so on.
LDL (& non-HDL) is bad cholesterol – lower, the better.
HDL is good cholesterol – higher, the better.
In the absence of any other risk factor, LDL of 100 is ideal. [130 was allowed before.] In the presence of ischemia, 70 should be the aim.
Keep your weight to normal / even a little less
Quit smoking, if you are a smoker
Do regular EXERCISE – say walking or jogging - 30 minutes a day / at least 5 days in a week. Isometric exercise (like bull worker) is bad.
Healthy FOOD is a must. Avoid saturated fats – coconut oil, palm oil, butter, ghee, full cream milk...Avoid junk foods in particular – French fries have palm oil / Pizza has cheese / Indian sweets are made in ghee.../ Change to Poly-un-saturated oil – like sun flower oil. / Include Mono-un-saturated oil – Olive oil.
Cholesterol can still be high, in spite of diet and exercise – you need drugs; Because it is also manufactured in the liver – and that is determined by heredity.
Some start drugs straight away, as in your case – Your LDL is rather high
Statin is the first choice - Atorvastatin is the most commonly prescribed statin. You can start 20 mg at night / Repeat the test in 6 weeks / If still high, you may add Ezetimibe 10 mg…
Discuss with your doctor
The treating doctor can suggest further based on his assessment of the situation.
Take care
Wishing all well
God bless
Good luck
Life style changes AND drugs are necessary
Detailed Answer:
Hi friend,
Welcome to Health Care Magic
There are subdivisions of cholesterol – LDL, HDL and so on.
LDL (& non-HDL) is bad cholesterol – lower, the better.
HDL is good cholesterol – higher, the better.
In the absence of any other risk factor, LDL of 100 is ideal. [130 was allowed before.] In the presence of ischemia, 70 should be the aim.
Keep your weight to normal / even a little less
Quit smoking, if you are a smoker
Do regular EXERCISE – say walking or jogging - 30 minutes a day / at least 5 days in a week. Isometric exercise (like bull worker) is bad.
Healthy FOOD is a must. Avoid saturated fats – coconut oil, palm oil, butter, ghee, full cream milk...Avoid junk foods in particular – French fries have palm oil / Pizza has cheese / Indian sweets are made in ghee.../ Change to Poly-un-saturated oil – like sun flower oil. / Include Mono-un-saturated oil – Olive oil.
Cholesterol can still be high, in spite of diet and exercise – you need drugs; Because it is also manufactured in the liver – and that is determined by heredity.
Some start drugs straight away, as in your case – Your LDL is rather high
Statin is the first choice - Atorvastatin is the most commonly prescribed statin. You can start 20 mg at night / Repeat the test in 6 weeks / If still high, you may add Ezetimibe 10 mg…
Discuss with your doctor
The treating doctor can suggest further based on his assessment of the situation.
Take care
Wishing all well
God bless
Good luck
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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