Reducing Cholesterol
Information on Cholesterol and Cholesterol Reducing medications
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Reducing your cholesterol can be a daunting task, but one worth undertaking. Heart disease, which is directly linked to high levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol, is the number one killer of Americans. Levels of LDL cholesterol are intricate in clogging your arteries and increasing the risk of a heart attack. It is therefore important to lower LDL cholesterol in your blood. Exercise and a healthy diet are still considered the best natural defense against high cholesterol. However, when these fail, it becomes necessary to visit a cardiologist or another medical expert to seek serious medical treatment. There are a variety of prescription drugs that your physician can prescribe. These are all aimed at lowering the LDL levels in your blood. Before taking steps to lower your cholesterol it is important to talk to doctor, and then only use prescriptions that have been clinically tested.
Prescription medications for cholesterol
- Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) is a prescription drug for lowering cholesterol. Lipitor, along with diet and exercise, can reduce LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels significantly.
- Vytorin is another well-known prescription drug that is used to lower levels of LDL cholesterol in your blood.
- Cholox is the first and only vitamin that can reduce cholesterol naturally. Its safety and efficacy has been proven in hundreds of studies involving thousands upon thousands of subjects. In fact, it is so safe and effective that its active ingredient is FDA approved.
- Crestor is a prescription medication that is taken once a day to lower your cholesterol.
What is Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found among the lipids (fats) in the bloodstream and in all your body's cells. It and other fats are unable to dissolve in the blood. These lipid fats must be transported to and from the cells by special carriers called lipoproteins. There are various kinds, but the ones to focus on are low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Cholesterol is also an essential part of a healthy body. Cholesterol is used to form cell membranes, some hormones and is also needed for other functions. However, a high level of it in the blood, also known as hypercholesterolemia greatly increases the risk for coronary heart disease, which eventually leads to a heart attack.
LDL cholesterol is transported in your bloodstream and consists of low density lipoproteins (called LDLs). Other cholesterol molecules are called HDLs (for high density lipoproteins). LDLs carry higher levels of cholesterol than HDL. Eventually these molecules are deposited throughout your body. This combined with other substances can form a thick plaque on the lining of your arteries, and eventually clog the artery entirely leading to a heart attack or a stroke.
HDL or, high-density lipoproteins, are considered to be the "good" cholesterol, largely because high levels of HDL is a good defense against heart attack. Medical experts believe that HDL tends to carry cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it's excreted from the body. Some experts believe that HDL removes excess cholesterol from plaque in arteries, thus slowing the buildup and reducing the risk of heart attack.HDL and LDL