Cholesterol medication

Question 1

How often should I get my cholesterol checked?

Answer

How often you get your cholesterol checked depends on a number of clinical factors, but in general, adults should be screened for lipid disorders (dyslipidemia) at least once every 5 years. If your risk of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is higher, then you should be screened at least every 3 years.

Cholesterol screenings are called lipid panels or lipid profiles. They measure the levels of LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides in your blood.

High cholesterol doesn't have any signs or symptoms, so getting your blood checked is essential to measuring risk.

Question 2

Who should take statins?

Answer

Statins can be prescribed to lower high cholesterol (LDL-C ≥160 mg/dL), or to prevent high cholesterol and its associated health risks. The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that healthcare providers prescribe statins to prevent ASCVD if the following statements are all true:

1. You're 40-75 years old

2. You have at least one of these ASCVD risk factors:

• You smoke cigarettes

• You have high blood pressure (hypertension)

• You have lipoprotein abnormalities like high LDL-C

• You have diabetes

3. Your estimated 10-year ASCVD risk is 7.5% or higher*

Did you know?

• Statin therapy can reduce LDL-C (“bad” cholesterol) by 20–60%

• Each 1% reduction in LDL-C can also reduce ASCVD risk by 1%

*This score is calculated by your provider using inputs like your age, sex, blood pressure, and smoking history.

Question 3

What are the possible side effects of taking high cholesterol medication?

Answer

Statins are the most prescribed type of medication in the world because they're considered safe, well-tolerated, effective, and can even have health benefits beyond lowering cholesterol.

But that doesn't mean that statin complications don't exist. The most common side effect of statin use is myopathy, or muscle-related symptoms like pain or tenderness.

Question 4

Clinical sources

Answer

1. Ferri, N., Ruscica, M., Fazio, S., & Corsini, A. (2024). Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs: A Narrative Review. Journal of clinical medicine, 13(4), 943.

2. Grundy, S. M., Stone, N. J., Bailey, A. L., Beam, C., Birtcher, K. K., Blumenthal, R. S., Braun, L. T., de Ferranti, S., Faiella-Tommasino, J., Forman, D. E., Goldberg, R., Heidenreich, P. A., Hlatky, M. A., Jones, D. W., Lloyd-Jones, D., Lopez-Pajares, N., Ndumele, C. E., Orringer, C. E., Peralta, C. A., Saseen, J. J., … Yeboah, J. (2019). 2018 AHA/ACC/AACVPR/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/ADA/AGS/APhA/ASPC/NLA/PCNA Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol: Executive Summary: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 73(24), 3168–3209.

3. Khatiwada, N., & Hong, Z. (2024). Potential Benefits and Risks Associated with the Use of Statins. Pharmaceutics, 16(2), 214.

4. Tsao, C. W., Aday, A. W., Almarzooq, Z. I., Anderson, C. A. M., Arora, P., Avery, C. L., Baker-Smith, C. M., Beaton, A. Z., Boehme, A. K., Buxton, A. E., Commodore-Mensah, Y., Elkind, M. S. V., Evenson, K. R., Eze-Nliam, C., Fugar, S., Generoso, G., Heard, D. G., Hiremath, S., Ho, J. E., Kalani, R., … American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee (2023). Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2023 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation, 147(8), e93–e621.

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Cholesterol medication

How it works

Common types of high cholesterol medication

Statins

Fibrates

Omega-3 fatty acid supplements

Ezetimibe (Zetia)

Niacin (Niacor)

What is high cholesterol?

Frequently asked questions