Cholesterol And Its Common Medications – A Complete Guide To Follow!

It can be your dietary choices, genetics, or lack of physical activity that have led your cholesterol (LDL) levels to make their way up.  No matter what could be the cause, chances are greater for you to live with its consequences.

What Types Of Drugs Are Used To Bring Down Cholesterol Levels?

However, at the same time, you can let it drop significantly through remedies like exercise and healthy diets. Sometimes, if your cholesterol markers are immensely high, you will see, that no diets or extreme levels of exercise alone can save you. There comes the necessity of starting medications to support your healthy cholesterol levels.

So what are the common drugs available to harness your cholesterol levels? Are they truly effective? How do they work? Let’s find out if you are curious.  

If the hike in your cholesterol levels is directly linked to genetics, you will have to start taking medications to bring it down, along with proper diet and lifestyle changes. 

Here are the various categories of medicines that are effective to manage higher cholesterol levels,

❇ Statins

Statins would be your doctor’s first preference, right away you seek his help. They are also effective to manage triglycerides, another form of blood fat. They can raise your HDL  or good cholesterol levels as well. 

They block the HMG or CoA reductase enzyme which is used by the liver to produce cholesterol. This way they incline cholesterol output in your system. Additionally, statins improve the function of your blood vessels’ linings.

Take a look at the drugs that come under the category of statins. 

👉 Atorvastatin (Lipitor)

👉 Fluvastatin (Lescol XL)

👉 Lovastatin (Altoprev)

👉 Pitavastatin (Livalo)

👉 Pravastatin (Pravachol)

👉 Rosuvastatin (Crestor)

👉 Simvastatin (Zocor)

❇ PCSK9 Inhibitors

PCSK9 Inhibitors work by blocking PCSK9, a protein so that it would be easy for your body to remove LDL from the blood. They are commonly used if statins don’t work to manage your cholesterol levels. 

Examples of PCSK9 Inhibitors include: 

👉 Alirocumab (Praluent)

👉 Evolocumab (Repatha)

❇ Fibric Acid Derivatives (Fibrates)

This is another category of drugs that are capable of bringing down lipid (fat) levels.  Generally, they are used to manage triglycerides or the fat that is accumulated in your body through high-calorie food varieties.

They are also effective to manage LDL production and improve HDL levels. However, it is not suitable for those who suffer liver or kidney-related conditions. 

Let’s have a look at the drugs that come under this class

👉 Fenofibrate (Antara, Lipofen, others)

👉 Gemfibrozil (Lopid)

❇ Citrate Lyase Inhibitors

With the assistance of Citrate lyase inhibitors, you can keep your liver from processing cholesterol. Besides, it helps to lower LDL in adults who have HeFH.

Citrate lyase inhibitors include:

👉 Bempedoic acid (Nexletol)

👉 Bempedoic acid-ezetimibe (Nexlizet)

❇ Bile Acid Sequestrants

Bile acid sequestrants or bile acid resin drugs work inside your intestines to manage cholesterol levels, as they attach to bile from the liver to stop it from being absorbed back into the blood.

Since bile is largely made from cholesterol,  these medications will interfere with your body’s supply of cholesterol. 

Here are the commonly used Bile acid sequestrants

👉 Cholestyramine (Prevalite)

👉 Colesevelam (Welchol)

👉 Colestipol (Colestid)

Final Verdict

Even though there are a variety of medications to control your hiked cholesterol levels, it doesn’t mean you can start taking them without any medical guidance.

This means the first thing you need to do is to consult your doctor to get the right suggestions and prescriptions.

So that they can help you with appropriate medications with the right doses, to bring desirable changes for you. Besides, he will assist you to have the exact routine for taking the medicine as well.