If you are having any symptoms or have any questions, please call 811 to speak with a registered nurse 24 hours a day.

Lowering your bad cholesterol can reduce your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Bad cholesterol is also called LDL, or low-density lipoprotein. A number of lifestyle changes (for example, diet and exercise) can help you improve your cholesterol level. Your healthcare provider may ask you try these changes for 6 months to 1 year. If they don’t help, your healthcare provider may prescribe medicine to lower your cholesterol.

Path to improved health

Even if you take cholesterol-lowering medicine, it’s important to keep up with your lifestyle changes. Eating a healthy diet and being physically active can make your medicine more effective. Your healthcare provider can give you tips on how to make healthy food choices and include physical activity in your daily routine.

What are some common cholesterol-lowering medicines?

Several types of medicine are used to treat high cholesterol levels. Your healthcare provider will decide which type of medicine is right for you. They may prescribe more than 1 of these drugs at a time.

• Statins (also called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) slow down your body’s production of cholesterol. These drugs also remove cholesterol buildup from your arteries (blood vessels).
• Resins (also called bile acid sequestrants) bind to bile acids. Bile acids help with digestion and are made by your liver using cholesterol. When resins bind to the bile, the body gets rid of them. This prompts your body to use excess cholesterol to make more bile acids. This lowers your LDL cholesterol level.
• Cholesterol absorption inhibitors help lower your cholesterol by reducing the amount that is absorbed by your intestines. This type of medicine is often given in combination with a statin.
• Fibrates (also called fibric acid derivatives) help lower your cholesterol by reducing the amount of triglycerides (fats) in your body and by increasing your level of “good” cholesterol (also called HDL, or high-density lipoprotein).
• PCSK9 inhibitors block a protein (called PCSK9). Blocking this protein helps your liver get rid of LDL cholesterol from your blood.

Things to consider

Like all medicines, these drugs can cause side effects. However, the side effects usually are not severe.

Common side effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs include the following:

• Diarrhea or constipation
• Abdominal pain, cramps, bloating or gas
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Headache
• Drowsiness
• Dizziness
• Muscle aches or weakness
• Flushing (skin turning red and warm)
• Sleep problems

Contact your healthcare provider as soon as possible if your side effects become severe.

What is a drug interaction?

If you take 2 or more medicines at the same time, the way your body processes each drug can change. When this happens, the risk of side effects from each drug increases and each drug may not work the way it should. This is called a “drug-drug interaction.” Vitamins and herbal supplements can also affect the way your body processes medicine.

Nutrients in certain foods or drinks can also prevent your medicine from working the way it should. They can also make side effects worse. This is called a drug-nutrient interaction.

Drug-drug interactions and drug-food interactions can be dangerous. Be certain that your healthcare provider knows all of the over‑the-counter and prescription medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements that you are taking. And don’t start taking any new medicines without first talking to your healthcare provider or pharmacist. This includes any new OTC or prescription medicines, vitamins, or herbal supplements.

It’s important to take medicines exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to. Ask your healthcare provider whether you need to avoid any foods or drinks while using your cholesterol-lowering medicine.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada

Toll free 1-888-473-4636

http://www.heartandstroke.ca/