High Cholesterol (Hypercholesterolemia) - Health Tips

• What criteria do you use to select patients for statin therapy?

Patients who have experienced a heart attack and/or stroke are primary candidates for statins. 

Statins may also be recommended to patients with diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hypertension (high blood pressure), peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a family history of heart disease, chronic kidney disease. 

Statins are generally prescribed when a person has LDL ("bad choleterol") levels over130 mg/dl, particulalry if they are smokers.

• What change in cholesterol levels do you want to see in patients after starting statin therapy?

After initiating statin therapy, we generally like to aim for an LDL level of less than 100 mg/dl.

For those who have experienced a heart attack or stroke, or who have diabetes, our goal is an even lower LDL level. In these cases, we aim for an LDL level of less than 70 mg/dl.

• What other treatments might be prescribed along with statins to control cholesterol levels?

We prescribe statins in combination with other lifestyle interventions to lower bad cholesterol levels and increase good cholesterol levels.

These interventions include a heart healthy diet to control high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

In some circumstances, we recommend adding red yeast rice to the diet. Red yeast rice has natural statins to help lower cholesterol levels. Red yeast ricse is available as a natural rice that can be consumed as a food, or as tablets.