Lower Your Cholesterol

What Does Cholesterol Treatment Involve?

Cholesterol treatment is designed to lower the levels of bad cholesterol and thus help to prevent atherosclerosis and ensuing heart attacks. Before any cholesterol treatment is prescribed your doctor will most likely request a few tests to ascertain exactly what the levels of cholesterol in your blood. Your doctor will also look into your medical history to judge the intensity of risk involved.

Importance of Risk Factors

If you have a history of heart attack in the family, you smoke, you have already developed high blood pressure, diabetes and/or have a history of atherosclerosis or heart disease, the recommended cholesterol treatment will be chosen accordingly. However, if the risk factors (as described above) are low the doctor will most likely prescribe a drug free therapy which will consist mostly of changes in diet and life style.

However, if one or more high risk symptoms are found to be present, and the levels of cholesterol (LDL in particular) are high too, then the doctor will start you on medication, depending upon the stage of the disease.

It is common knowledge that bad cholesterol or LDL cholesterol is instrumental in causing atherosclerosis. This disease is the first step towards heart attack and eventually death. Atherosclerosis is a progressive disease which can start extremely early in life. Since it does not have any particular symptoms, it will progress silently and manifest itself through heart pain (angina) and heart attacks.

The cholesterol treatment the doctor prescribes will aim to reverse this trend. While medicines are found to be efficient, some studies show that they are not enough. People who develop atherosclerosis are still at risk from heart attacks even with the most appropriate regime of diet, exercise and lifestyle. What seems to help is to increase the levels of HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol).

HDL cholesterol removes and cleans the arteries of the plaque formed by fat and other debris accumulation thereby returning the cardiovascular system to its healthy form. This cholesterol treatment is what really helps in the end. Unless the arteries are “cleaned”, the risk of heart attack can still exists despite the bad cholesterol being brought under control.

In order to be informed about risk from an early stage, when it is easier to reverse the atherosclerosis, you need to take a cholesterol test at least once every three years. You should also be careful about what type of fat you consume and reduce saturated fats to the minimum.