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Cholesterol is an element that is needed by the body, but an excess amount can harm the body. This condition can increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. To lower your body's cholesterol levels with various cholesterol-lowering drugs, natural remedies for cholesterol, and various other cholesterol medications. So, what cholesterol treatments can you choose? Check out the full explanation below.

Various choices of cholesterol-lowering drugs

There are several drugs that can be a treatment option if you want to reduce cholesterol levels that are too high in the blood. Here are some drug options that you can use:

1. Statins

According to the American Heart Association, statin use is one of the most potent cholesterol treatment options. Statins work on the liver or liver to prevent cholesterol from building up. That way, the amount of cholesterol circulating in the blood also decreases.

Statins are known as drugs that are effective in reducing LDL levels in the blood. Not only that, this drug can also lower triglyceride levels and increase the amount of HDL or good cholesterol in the blood.

However, as with various types of drugs in general, this class of drugs can also cause side effects. Usually, the side effects of taking statins are not serious and over time, your body will adapt to these side effects.

For the use of this drug as a treatment option for cholesterol, you still need to consult a doctor. The reason is, not everyone is allowed to use this drug. For example, pregnant women and people with liver problems should not use statin drugs.

So, even though it doesn't cause cholesterol symptoms, you need to do blood tests to check cholesterol regularly. If indeed your cholesterol level is high, do not immediately take the drug. However, immediately check with your doctor and ask what cholesterol treatment is right for you.

2.Bile acid binders (bile acid sequestrants)

Another class of drugs that can also be a treatment option for lowering cholesterol are bile acid binding drugs, better known as bile acid.bile acid sequestrants. As with the statin drug class, this drug class also functions to lower LDL levels in the blood.

This drug works by reducing the levels of bile acids. The reason is, the body needs bile acids and makes them by breaking down LDL cholesterol.

It's just that you need to remember that this one treatment for cholesterol can cause side effects, for example constipation, flatulence, nausea, feeling like passing gas, toheartburn or a burning sensation in the chest.

If you want to use this drug, first ask your doctor whether using this drug is safe for your health condition.

3. Niacin

Another alternative to other cholesterol treatment is the use of niacin. This drug is a B vitamin that can increase the levels of lipoproteins in the body. Niacin increases the amount of HDL in the body as well as lowers LDL and triglyceride levels.

However, the use of this drug also has some side effects that need attention. For example, red spots on the face and neck, itching, stomach pain, and increased blood sugar levels. Therefore, if you want to use niacin for cholesterol treatment, you should first consult your doctor.

4. Fibrate

This class of drugs is also another option for cholesterol treatment. This class of drugs is effective for lowering the levels of triglyceride in the blood. In addition, in certain cases, fibrate drugs can also increase HDL levels in the body.

Even so, it is slightly different from drugs to lower LDL levels in the blood. As with the use of other medicines, fibrate drugs can also cause nausea, stomach pain, headaches and dizziness.

5. Cholesterol absorption inhibitor

Similar to other cholesterol drugs, this drug is also quite often used to treat high cholesterol. This class of drugs works by preventing cholesterol from being absorbed by the intestines. This class of drugs is most effective in lowering LDL levels in the body.

In fact, this drug may have a fairly good effect in lowering the triglyceride level and increasing the HDL level in the blood. But remember to always consult beforehand about the cholesterol treatment options you want to live with.

Usecholesterol absorption inhibitor it can also cause side effects in the form of abdominal pain, fatigue, and muscle aches.

6. Injection drugs

Apart from drinking drugs, there are also injection drugs that can help reduce the levels of this fatty substance in the blood. Similar to most drugs used to treat cholesterol, these drugs can also lower LDL levels in the blood.

Generally, this drug is given to patients who have genetic problems that cause LDL levels to rise. In addition, this drug is also used by people whose health conditions do not improve immediately even though they have taken drinking drugs to treat cholesterol.

Who can take cholesterol-lowering drugs?

Not a few people choose to take cholesterol medication as a treatment option to prevent strokes and heart disease. In fact, this drug should not be taken carelessly and you still need a doctor's prescription to get it.

Your doctor will consider your health condition and all risk factors before prescribing cholesterol medication as the right treatment option for you. You can start taking cholesterol medication if the cholesterol level in the body is high enough, so you are at risk of causing cholesterol complications if not treated immediately.

Normally, total cholesterol overall should be below 200 mg / dL. Meanwhile, LDL cholesterol should not be more than 130 mg / dL. In essence, not everyone can easily take cholesterol medication. According to the American Heart Association, there are four main groups that should opt for statin use as a cholesterol treatment.

The first group is adults in the age range of 40-75 years with LDL cholesterol levels of 70-189 mg / dL. This group generally does not have heart disease, but is at risk for experiencing it in the next 10 years. Especially for people who have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and active smokers.
The second group, people who already have heart and blood vessel disease, especially those associated with hardening or narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis). For example, for people with heart attacks, strokes due to blockage of blood vessels, angina, minor strokes, peripheral arteries, and so on.
The third group, people aged 21 years or more with very high LDL cholesterol levels exceeding the normal limit, which is above 190 mg / dL.
The fourth group, people with diabetes and have LDL cholesterol levels of 70-189 mg / dL. This is even more so if people with diabetes are proven to have risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure and smoking habits.

Cholesterol drugs must be taken according to a doctor's prescription

Another thing you need to know about cholesterol treatment by taking drugs is that it cannot be consumed carelessly. This means, to take drugs such as statins, niacin, and other drug classes, you must consult a doctor.

Yes, drugs for cholesterol are not designed to be bought and sold freely. You must buy it with a doctor's prescription, both for the initial dose and the next dose. There are several reasons why you are not advised to take cholesterol drugs freely.

1. Cholesterol drugs are not intended for everyone

Some people choose to take medication as a cholesterol treatment. The goal is to lower cholesterol levels in order to prevent strokes and heart attacks. However, this drug must be taken according to a doctor's prescription. The reason is, this drug is not intended for everyone.

Take for example, consumption of statins and other drugs that are not intended for pregnant women because they can cause certain side effects to the risk of causing birth defects.

According to Antonio M. Gotto Jr., MD, a professor of medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in Itacha, New York, statins and other drugs are also not recommended for women of childbearing age.

2. Cholesterol drugs have different side effects

All types of drugs have side effects, including cholesterol-lowering drugs. When prescribing medication, your doctor will consider the type and dosage based on how high your cholesterol is, the possible risks, history of vascular disease, and possible side effects.

In general, the side effects of these drugs to reduce blood lipids include nausea, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, drowsiness, and muscle aches. However, drugs such as statins have additional side effects, namely increasing the risk of muscle tissue damage or liver damage.

This risk will increase if you take statins without a doctor's prescription, especially if you are taking antibiotics or other drugs that function the same at the same time. So, if you want to use cholesterol drugs, you should first consult with your doctor.

Although some cholesterol drugs have the same content, the formulas can be different if they are produced by different drug companies. This will affect the properties of the drug and the side effects it causes.

3. Cholesterol drugs should not be taken together with certain drugs

Before redeeming a prescription at the pharmacy, the doctor will explain how to take medicine that is good and right according to your condition. How many times the drug must be consumed in a day, the side effects that may arise, for how long it takes, to what extent the drug is allowed to be taken with other drugs

Well, if you take medication for cholesterol treatment without a doctor's prescription, you certainly won't know the side effects that might occur if you take it together with other drugs.

The reason is, the effectiveness of drugs will be disrupted by the intake of certain foods and supplements. This will get worse when you take antibiotics or other drugs together with statins because they can increase the side effects of statins.

Unless statins cause very serious side effects for your body and do not help lower cholesterol levels enough, your doctor will likely prescribe other drugs that can help the effectiveness of statins in your body. Therefore, you must have a doctor's prescription before deciding to take cholesterol medication.

The importance of a healthy lifestyle when taking cholesterol drugs

Cholesterol medication can indeed help you reduce high cholesterol levels in the body. However, in addition to drug use, doctors usually recommend that you do other cholesterol treatments.

For example, by avoiding foods that contain high cholesterol, such as high-fat milk and fatty meat. There is no denying that the real key to lowering cholesterol is changing your lifestyle.

These lifestyle changes include doing exercise every day for at least 30 minutes and avoiding various other lifestyles that may be the cause of cholesterol.

In addition, cholesterol treatment can also be done by eating foods that are low in fat, cholesterol, and salt, controlling stress, and quitting smoking. Even though you are already taking cholesterol-lowering drugs or supplements, you still have to adopt a healthy lifestyle to help lower your cholesterol levels.

If you think that when you have taken cholesterol treatment by taking drugs, you will be free to eat any food, then your assumption has been wrong.

However, taking medication by taking cholesterol-lowering drugs does not mean you can ignore a low cholesterol diet. You still have to keep cholesterol levels normal by paying attention to your intake of fats and carbohydrates because these two nutrients can increase cholesterol levels in the blood.

In addition, what you have to remember is that it doesn't mean you have to stop eating all fatty foods. Not all fatty foods are bad for your body. Your body still needs fat from healthy fats. You can get it from foods that are good for keeping your cholesterol down, such as those found in nuts, fish, avocados, and olive oil.

Foods that you should avoid are foods that contain saturated and trans fats, such as those found in fried foods. Not only that, don't forget to always eat fibrous foods, such as vegetables and fruit, because fibrous foods can lower cholesterol.