Excessive cholesterol in the blood of a person is considered a huge threat to his health. The substance freely spreads through the blood vessels and is able to settle on the vascular walls, creating the so-called cholesterol plaques. They, in turn, threaten to narrow capillaries and the emergence of serious diseases such as heart attack and stroke.
In people of retirement age, patients with vascular aneurysm, as well as in patients who have previously suffered a heart attack or stroke, narrowing of blood vessels can cause more serious damage to health and cause the formation of other pathologies of the heart and blood vessels. To reduce the likelihood of developing an unpleasant disease, you should resort to taking drugs that lower blood cholesterol.
But cholesterol pills should only be prescribed by a professional. Their improper use and neglect of contraindications can provoke unpredictable consequences and significantly complicate the general condition of the patient. But we must not forget that together with conservative treatment, or in the absence of the need to implement such, the patient should review his diet and adjust his lifestyle. What are the most effective pills for lowering cholesterol?
How to lower high cholesterol?
To reduce the concentration of cholesterol in the blood, as a rule, a person should refuse harmful products. It is also necessary to maintain the normal tone of the capillaries, so do not forget about the benefits of exercise and walking.
The course of conservative treatment with increased cholesterol takes quite a long time, and the patient should be ready for this. In this case, it is important for a person to follow all the recommendations of the treating doctor in order to bring health to a stable state.
So, to lower cholesterol without tablets, the following should be done:
- quit smoking and alcohol;
- consume less salt;
- eliminate or reduce fatty foods;
- to fill your diet with products that are enriched in fiber;
- consume complex carbohydrates;
- Be sure to include foods rich in polyunsaturated acids in your diet.
The prohibited foods include:
- sausages;
- flour;
- Cakes
- rolls.
The right approach to a problem situation with high cholesterol will not only help lower its performance, but also improve the overall well-being of a person.
Eighty percent of cholesterol is stored in the liver, and only twenty percent penetrates the human body with food. As a rule, a balanced and nutritious diet will help to solve the problem effectively.
The treatment regimen that every patient must adhere to is:
- getting rid of excess weight;
- daily exercise;
- careful calorie control;
- giving up alcohol and cigarettes;
- avoidance of stress and psychoemotional shocks.
To significantly reduce blood cholesterol and prevent the appearance of cholesterol plaques, you can take certain herbal medicines and biologically active additives. So, due to the sufficient intake of Omega-3, the likelihood of thrombosis on the walls of blood vessels is reduced.
In rare cases, adjustments made to the patient’s life and diet do not cope with high cholesterol. In this situation, there is only one way out - to resort to taking special medications that only a doctor can prescribe.
Classification of pills to lower blood cholesterol
To reduce cholesterol in the blood of a person, medical specialists prescribe tablet medicines. They are divided into five types:
- Statins
- Fibrates.
- Absorption inhibitor.
- A nicotinic acid.
- Biologically active additives.
The first group of drugs is recommended by doctors if the cholesterol level is very high, and it needs to be quickly reduced. These are quite effective drugs, the effect of which can be noted two weeks after the start of therapy. Statins can be consumed over time.
The second group of medicines is aimed at increasing the level of beneficial cholesterol in the patient's body. By using them, the likelihood of negative effects on the heart and blood vessels is significantly reduced.
The third group of drugs does not allow cholesterol to be absorbed in the intestine, but it does not enter the bloodstream. It is most suitable for people who have excessive sensitivity to statins.
Nicotinic acid has an extensive effect on the human body: removes unnecessary cholesterol, while increasing the amount of beneficial, and also normalizes blood circulation.
Dietary supplements are universal remedies that are widely used in the fight against high cholesterol. Supplements have absolutely no prohibitions on intake, lowering high levels of bad cholesterol and increasing the level of healthy.
The best pills to lower blood cholesterol
All groups of drugs for high cholesterol differ from each other in their composition and the principle of influence on the human body. Each of these types of medicines has its positive and negative sides, as well as side effects that you need to know about. In order to understand which drugs deserve attention, the most effective ones should be briefly reviewed. It depends on which of the previously described groups they belong.
Statins
Before deciding to use statins, you need to understand what these medicines are. Statins inhibit the natural production of strains that are involved in the process of combining cholesterol.
According to the instructions for the use of drugs, the pharmacological effect of statins is achieved by:
- Lowering blood cholesterol by inhibiting reductase and partially blocking the production of this trace element by the liver.
- Decrease in cholesterol concentration in people with hypercholesterolemia, which is not eliminated with the use of drugs that suppress the production of lipids.
- A decrease in total cholesterol by forty-five percent, as well as harmful - by sixty percent.
- Reducing the likelihood of ischemia in the capillaries by twenty-five percent.
Statins are effective pills to lower cholesterol, but they can also provoke side effects in the form of:
- Loss of sleep.
- Asthenic syndrome (a psychopathological disorder that is characterized by progressive development and accompanies most diseases of the body).
- Cephalgia (a form of nervous headache caused by coronary heart disease).
- Nausea
- Violations of the stool.
- Abdominal pain (acute or chronic pain in the abdomen that occurs periodically or is observed constantly).
- Flatulence (excessive accumulation of gases in the intestines).
- Myalgia (a disease that mainly occurs due to inflammation of muscle fibers)
- General malaise.
- Impaired memory.
- Vertigo (a symptom known as dizziness, it is characteristic of ear pathology or, less commonly, brain damage).
- Hypesthesia (a phenomenon in psychiatry characterized by a decrease in a person’s sensitivity to all external stimuli).
- Paresthesia (one of the types of sensitivity disorder, characterized by spontaneously arising sensations of burning, tingling, crawling ants).
- Peripheral neuropathy (a group of pathologies, the cause of which should be considered non-inflammatory damage to nerve structures).
- Vomiting
- The development of hepatitis (inflammatory diseases of the liver, usually of viral origin).
- Anorexia (an eating disorder characterized by significantly reduced body weight).
- Cholestatic jaundice (a pathological process in the patient's body, which is accompanied by a lack of access to bile in the intestine).
- Back pain.
- Muscle cramps.
- Articular arthritis (the collective name for all lesions of the articular tissue).
- Rashes.
- Urticaria (skin disease, dermatitis of predominantly allergic origin, characterized by the rapid appearance of spots).
- Anaphylaxis (acute, life-threatening reaction to a particular allergen, accompanied by swelling, suffocation, muscle spasms and severe pain).
- Hypoglycemia (a pathological condition characterized by a decrease in blood glucose concentration).
- Weight gain. The development of obesity.
In representatives of a strong half of humanity, the use of statins can provoke the appearance of impotence.
When should statins be used?
Despite all the assurances of the manufacturers, the absolute harmlessness of such drugs for people today is considered unproven. If we talk about the ratio of the positive and negative effects of statins, some experts emphasize that the likelihood of adverse reactions is much higher than the benefits of their use, especially if it is carried out as a preventive measure to prevent heart and vascular diseases with hypercholesterolemia.
But for some patients, this group of medicines is urgently needed. Modern statins are recommended for mandatory use with the goal of:
- Prevention of recurrence of a heart attack or stroke.
- Recovery after surgery on the heart or large blood vessels.
- Acceleration of recovery from a heart attack or acute coronary syndrome.
These drugs are also useful for coronary heart disease with a high risk of heart attack or stroke.
Categorically you can not use statins for patients:
- With a low probability of developing complications of hypercholesterolemia.
- Suffering from diabetes.
- Women who are not on the eve of menopause.
When using statins, their compatibility with other medicines should be taken into account.
The effect of statins on the body
Specialists from different countries have their own point of view about the effectiveness of these drugs with high cholesterol:
- German scientists have proven that low cholesterol leads to cancer and dangerous liver diseases. They confirm that hypocholesterolemia leads to an early death, and also increases the number of suicides. As a rule, this condition is most dangerous than high cholesterol in the blood.
- American researchers point out that heart attacks and strokes are not considered the result of high cholesterol. The main symptoms of these diseases, scientists consider a lack of magnesium in the human body.
- Cholesterol is a trace element that helps repair damaged tissues. The use of statins suppresses this function, since even bad cholesterol is good for humans. Thanks to him, muscle building is carried out, but his lack can lead to myalgia and dystrophy.
- The use of statins suppresses the process of connecting cholesterol, which reduces the production of mevalonate. This component is responsible for the production of cholesterol and many other useful trace elements. Their lack can lead to the appearance of various dangerous diseases.
If an increased amount of cholesterol is found in patients under the age of fifty, this indicates serious disturbances in the functioning of the body, which require quick medical intervention.
List of pills to lower blood cholesterol:
- "Rosuvastatin."
- Atorvastatin.
- Fluvastatin
Is it worth it to use statins or is it better to abandon them - this should be decided by the patient, based on the prescription of the treating doctor. If a person still decided to use such treatment, then you can’t choose a medication yourself - this should be done only by a doctor, taking into account all the possible risks and the presence of chronic diseases in the patient.
The following is a complete list of pills to lower blood cholesterol:
- Atomax
- Atoris
- Torvakard.
- Tulip.
- Liptonorm.
- "Akorta".
- The Crestor.
- Mertenil.
- "Rosuvastatin."
- Rosucard.
- "Rosulip."
- Roxer.
- Tevastor.
- "Vasilip".
- Zokor.
- "Aries".
- Simvor.
- Simgal.
- Simlo.
- Sinkard.
- Cardiostatin.
- "Holetar."
- Fluvastatin
Fibrates
The drugs of the fibrate group are derivatives of fibroic acid. Like statins, they are used to eliminate high cholesterol. Binding to bile acid, these trace elements inhibit the process of connecting cholesterol to liver cells.
Fibrates help lower the level of lipids in the human body, which automatically leads to a decrease in the amount of cholesterol. Together with ciprofibrates, they reduce the risk of extravascular complications of hypercholesterolemia, as they normalize the level of triglycerides.
The most effective and well-known drugs include the following:
- Gemfibrozil.
- Tricor.
- Lipantil.
- Exlip.
To eliminate the negative effects of statins on the body, they must be used in combination with fibrates.
Cholesterol Absorption Inhibitors
What pills can I drink to lower cholesterol? Ezetrol is a modern medicine that lowers the level of lipids in the body. Due to this, the process of cholesterol absorption in the intestine is suppressed.
In addition, Ezetrol, unlike Orsoten and other similar medicines, rarely leads to diarrhea. The maximum recommended daily dosage of the drug is ten grams.
Other medicines
What are some pills to lower cholesterol yet? After consulting a specialist, the patient can try to lower cholesterol using dietary supplements, for example:
- Omega Forte.
- "Pumpkin".
- "Lipoic acid."
- "SitoPren".
As a rule, dietary supplements and homeopathic medicines are not suitable for eliminating hypercholesterolemia, as they have a rather weak effect on the patient's body. If there is a need to prevent the occurrence of diseases of the heart and blood vessels or early death, it is better, nevertheless, to resort to the use of statins.
Vitamin Supplements
Supplements that can be used for high cholesterol:
- Medicines that contain Omega-3 (Fish Oil, Oceanol) are recommended for diseases of the cardiovascular system, strengthen joints and reduce the likelihood of developing depressive disorders. It is necessary to use such drugs with extreme caution, as they increase the risk of chronic pancreatitis.
- "Lipoic acid" has a positive effect on carbohydrate metabolism. Its use helps to improve trophic neurons and increase the level of hepatic glycogens.
What other cholesterol lowering pills are there? For example, the following dietary supplements do an excellent job of this task:
- "Tykveol" - a drug that contains pumpkin seed oil. It is recommended for use in cerebral arteriosclerosis, cholecystitis, hepatitis. The medication has a choleretic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and hepatoprotective effect.
- Vitamins are necessary for high cholesterol (especially group B: adermin, folic and nicotinic acids, cyanocobalamin). To normalize lipid metabolism, you should eat foods that contain all of the above components.
- "Polyconazole" is a dietary supplement containing plant wax extract. Helps eliminate vascular atherosclerosis and lower low-density cholesterol.
Drugs that lower cholesterol have a huge number of disadvantages, as they can provoke a number of negative side effects. For this reason, the reviews of medical professionals regarding their use vary greatly.