High Cholesterol

High Cholesterol Drugs

Written by the Healthline Editorial Team | Medically Reviewed by Stephanie Burkhead, MPH
Published on August 25, 2010

 

Just as there are several types of cholesterol, there are also many different kinds of drugs that either lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol or raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Your doctor can help determine which class of medication is right for you. You should talk to your doctor about any other medications you’re currently taking, as they may interact negatively with high cholesterol drugs.
Once prescribed, it’s important to take your medication exactly as directed and talk to your physician right away about any unpleasant side effects. Although cholesterol drugs can be very effective, for best results, you should also adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes a heart-healthy diet and regular exercise.

Statins

Also known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, statins slow down your body’s production of cholesterol and help eliminate excess cholesterol from your arteries. While they are used primarily to lower LDL cholesterol—the bad stuff—they may also slightly improve blood levels of triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein HDL cholesterol. Examples of statins include:

• Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
• Fluvastatin (Lescol)
• Lovastatin (Altoprev, Mevacor)
• Pravastatin (Pravachol)
• Rosuvastatin Calcium (Crestor)
• Simvastatin (Zocor)

You should avoid taking statins if you have liver disease or if you are pregnant. Do not drink grapefruit juice while on this medication.
Side effects of statins include:

• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Gas
• Headache
• Upset stomach
• Muscle pain

Combination Statins

Some statin medications also include an adjunct drug to help lower triglycerides or boost HDL cholesterol. Those include:

• Atorvastatin with amlodipine (Caduet)
• Lovastatin with niacin (Advicor)
• Simvastatin with ezetimibe (Vytorin)

You should not take Vytorin or Advicor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Avoid taking Vytorin if you have liver disease. As with statins, do not drink grapefruit juice while taking this medication.
Side effects may include:

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• Headache
• Upset stomach
• Redness or flushing

Bile-Acid-Binding Resins

Also called bile acid sequestrants, resins help the body dispose of LDL cholesterol. Your body uses cholesterol to create bile, which is used in the digestive process. As the name suggests, this class of drugs binds to bile so that it can’t be used during digestion. The body responds by making even more bile, which requires more cholesterol. The more bile it makes, the more cholesterol the body uses, thereby lowering the amount of cholesterol in your bloodstream. People with liver or gallbladder problems should avoid using these medications. Examples of bile-acid-binding resins include:

• Cholestyramine (Locholest, Locholest Light, Prevalite, Questran, Questran Light,)
• Colesevelam Hcl (WelChol)
• Colestipol (Colestid)

Side effects may include:

• Constipation
• Gas
• Heartburn
• Indigestion
• Nausea

Selective Cholesterol Absorption Inhibitors

Selective cholesterol absorption inhibitors help lower LDL cholesterol by preventing its absorption by the intestines. They may have a modest effect on boosting HDL as well. People with liver disease should not take this type of medication. An example of this type of cholesterol drug:

• Ezetimibe (Zetia)

Side effects may include:

• Stomach pain
• Fatigue
• Joint pain
• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
• Sneezing

Fibrates 

Used alone or in combination with other drugs, fibrates work by lowering triglycerides and, in some cases, raising “good” HDL cholesterol. People with kidney problems, gallbladder disease, or liver disease should not use fibrates. Examples of fibrates include:

• Clofibrate (Atromid-S)
• Gemfibrozil (Lopid)
• Fenofibrate (Antara, Lofibra, Tricor, and Triglide)

Side effects may include:

• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Stomach pain

Note: When taken with a statin, fibrates may increase the chance of muscle problems.

Omega-3 Fatty Acid (Fish Oil)

A prescription-strength fish oil (omega-3 fatty acid) called Lovaza is FDA-approved for the treatment of very high blood triglycerides (above 500 ml/dL). Omega-3 fatty acids are also available as supplements, but in lower doses.
Side effects may include:

• Back pain
• Burping
• Flu-like symptoms
• Taste changes
• Upset stomach
• Skin rash
• Increased risk of infections

Niacin (Nicotinic acid)

Prescription-strength niacin—also known as vitamin B3—helps improve cholesterol by boosting HDL and lowering LDL and triglycerides. When used in combination with statins, niacin could raise HDL levels by 50 percent or more. Although you can buy niacin without a prescription, over-the-counter doses are not effective in treating high cholesterol. Examples of prescription-strength niacin include:

• Niacor
• Niaspan
• Slo-Niacin

Because side effects may occur, do not take high doses of niacin without a prescription from your physician. Niacin may increase blood glucose levels in diabetics.
Side effects may include:

• Flushing
• Headache
• Itching
• Tingling sensation in extremities
• Upset stomach

 

Fitness Myths

Fitness Myths De-bunked

Some fitness myths have persisted for years, yet adhering to certain misconceptions can be harmful to your health and impede any progress that you might otherwise have made.

Myth #1: Crunches and other abdominal muscles workouts will get you a flat stomach

Crunches, sit-ups, abdominal rollers and the like are great for toning your stomach, right? Yes and no. Your abdominal muscles are covered with body fat, and the only way to get the six pack you want is to get rid of the fat first. Since you can't target areas on your body for fat removal, replacing abdominal workouts with cardio exercises and weight lifting training will help you burn fat, not only in your stomach, but other areas of the body as well. Cardio by itself will burn belly fat, but at a much slower rate than combining it with weight training.
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Myth #2: Drinking lots of water helps you lose weight

This myth is true, but with a caution. One study by Dr. Brenda Davy, associate professor of human nutrition, foods and exercise at Virginia Tech, found that people who drank two to three glasses of water 20 to 30 minutes prior to each meal lost more weight more quickly than those who didn't. Even drinking one glass of water before a meal caused people to eat 75 fewer calories. If you eliminated 75 calories from each meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), you would lose close to one kilogram in a month.
Although it's very rare, it is possible to drink too much water, resulting in hyponatremia, also known as water intoxication. Hyponatremia literally means "low salt," and when the sodium level in blood becomes too low, extra water enters the cells and causes them to swell. This can become potentially harmful or even fatal if the cells in your brain begin to swell, since the skull keeps it from expanding. Luckily, hyponatremia is very rare. If you're unsure about how much you need to drink to lose weight effectively, you can count your body weight in kilograms the number of ounces of water you should drink in a day.
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Myth #3: Stretching before a workout prevents injury

Stretching before a workout doesn't actually increase your range of motion, as many people believe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that people who stretched before a workout weren't any less prone to injuries than those who didn't. And a 2010 study published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine found that people who used traditional stretching methods, such as touching their toes, were less flexible than those who did more active stretching and used more muscle groups.

Myth #4: Using weight lifting makes you bulky

Women tend to be especially apprehensive about using weights for fear they'll end up looking like bodybuilders, but they don't have to worry. Muscle takes up less space than fat, so using weights will actually cause your measurements to shrink instead of increase. Strength training helps you lose weight faster and keep it off longer, according to Jeffrey Janot, PhD, an assistant professor of exercise physiology at South Dakota State University.
Also keep in mind that testosterone plays a huge role in increasing muscle size. Since men have 20 to 30 times more testosterone than women, it's more noticeable when they bulk up.
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Myth #5: Working out means you can eat whatever you want

Unfortunately, this myth is just wishful thinking. You still need to count calories in order to lose weight and keep it off, even if you exercise on a regular basis. If you're not sure how many calories you're taking in and how many you're burning, try using a calorie counter program to keep track.

Why are some people mosquito magnets?

If you feel as if every mosquito in a 50-mile radius has you locked in its sights, while your friends are rarely bitten, you could be right. Up to 20 percent of us are highly alluring to mosquitoes—and scientists have discovered some surprising reasons.
“Both your metabolism and your unique body chemistry—which is as distinctive as a fingerprint—play an important role in determining whether or not you’re a mosquito magnet,” says University of Florida entomology professor Dr. Phil Koehler. “Also, there’s evidence that your degree of attractiveness to mosquitoes can change over time.”
Here are some intriguing discoveries about why some of us are particularly tasty targets for the tiny vampires:

Mosquitos prefer blood type O

In their quest for a meal, mosquitoes are nearly twice as likely to land on people with type 0 blood than those with type A, according to a Japanese study.  Indeed, the biting pests consider type 0 more delectable than any other blood type, the researchers reported. Most people secrete substances that allow mosquitoes to identify blood type before they bite.

Beer drinkers beware

Swigging just one bottle of beer can significantly boost your risk of being bitten, according to a study published in Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. The researchers reported that, “Mosquito landing on volunteers significantly increased after beer ingestion compared with before ingestion.”
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Watch out for the full moon

The tiny bloodsuckers are 500 times more active when the moon is full, reports the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA). Overall, the highest risk times for mosquito bites are dusk and dawn, with the females of some species migrating up to 40 miles in pursuit of a meal. (Male mosquitoes don’t bite.)

Keep your socks on

The pungent aroma of dirty feet is apparently irresistible to mosquitoes, as a brave scientist, Bart Knols, discovered when he sat in a lab in his underwear to find out which parts of the body the pests are most likely to target. He found that 75 percent of the bugs homed in on his feet, but after he washed them with deodorant soap, the mosquitos bit randomly. His team also reported that stinky cheeses, such as Limburger—which has the same odoriferous compound responsible for foot odor—also draws mosquitoes.

Mosquitos know if you’re expecting

Moms-to-be get bitten about twice as often as women who aren’t pregnant, increasing their risk for bug-borne diseases, according to a study conducted in Gambia. The researchers hypothesized that since women in the later stages of pregnancy exhale 21 percent more volume, mosquitos were drawn in by the moisture and carbon dioxide in their breath. They also found that pregnant women's abdomens are nearly 1 degree warmer, which may cause more volatile substances—released in sweat and attractive to mosquitos—to be present on their skin. Not only do several other studies have similar findings, says Dr. Koehler, but “there’s also evidence that women are more attractive to mosquitoes during certain phases of the ovulation cycle.” Studies have mixed results as to whether men or women are more likely to get bitten, he adds.
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Running won’t help you

Both the carbon dioxide we exhale and substances in sweat, such as lactic acid, help mosquitoes home in on their prey. As a result, Dr. Koehler reports. “You’re more likely to be bitten if you’re running or exercising than when you’re at rest, since you’re breathing harder and sweating more.” In fact, physical activity ups risk for bites by as much as 50 percent, according to AMCA.

Like vampires, they prefer dark clothes

Dark-colored clothing can increase your risk of falling victim to the little bloodsuckers, compared to lighter-colored garments, says Dr. Koehler. In one study comparing the appeal of various hues to mosquitoes, the researchers reported  the following results:  black (most attractive); red (very attractive); grey and blue (neutral); khaki, green, light khaki, and yellow (less attractive).