A Simple Guide to Cholesterol: What you Need to Know and do to Manage your Cholesterol

Abstract

An estimated half of Americans have high cholesterol making its management both prevalent and important. Many patients may be unaware they have high cholesterol or of its long-term effects on health. Cholesterol does significantly increase a patient’s risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. This PET is designed to give a general overview of what cholesterol is and its risk factors. It also is designed to help enable patients to better manage their cholesterol through reviewing possible lifestyle interventions and pharmacotherapy. Lifestyle changes that are recommended include eating a healthy, low fat diet, exercising at least 30 minutes every day, weight loss, and smoking cessation. Statins, nicotinic acid, fibric acid, and bile acid resins are briefly reviewed including side effects. The need to talk to your physician before starting alternative therapy is also emphasized. The alternative therapy Red Yeast Rice (RYR) extract is also reviewed. Recent research may indicate a role for RYR extract in safely reducing cholesterol in the short-term. However, many of the studies looking at RYR are of poor quality and do not look at its longterm effects. Medications that have been proven to be safe and effective such as statins are recommended for the primary pharmacological management of high cholesterol.