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Dyslipidemia

What is Dyslipidemia?

Dyslipidemia happens when your body has a high amount of bad cholesterol in it. Your prescriber may talk to you about a few different kinds of cholesterol. These cholesterols include:

  • LDL (bad cholesterol)
  • HDL (good cholesterol)
  • Triglycerides (bad cholesterol)

In dyslipidemia, the body will have a high amount of bad cholesterol and a low amount of good cholesterol. Medication, diet, weight management, and physical activity can lower bad cholesterol levels.

What causes high cholesterol?

Living an unhealthy lifestyle over time can cause bad cholesterol. This includes:

  • Eating unhealthy foods (especially those high in bad fats)
  • A lack of physical activity
  • Smoking
  • Overweight or obesity

It is important to have a healthy lifestyle to prevent future health problems associated with high cholesterol. Bad cholesterol can also run in the family (genetics). As you age, your cholesterol can rise as well.

Can high cholesterol cause other health issues?

Several health problems can occur with high bad cholesterol. These problems can include:

  • Narrowing of blood vessels – this causes the heart to work harder to pump blood!
  • Heart attack
  • Stroke
  • Artery disease

Heart attacks and strokes require immediate medical attention!

What medications treat high cholesterol?

Typically, a statin is first medication used to treat high cholesterol. Statins work to lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol. They work very well, but sometimes people may have problems with side effects. When statins do not work well enough, your prescriber may add another medication.

Specialty medications that treat high cholesterol include:

You may take these medications in combination with a statin or alone if statins did not work for you.

To learn more about high cholesterol, there are several resources listed below:

References:

Dyslipidemia – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560891/

What is cholesterol? – heart.org. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://www.heart.org/-/media/Files/Health-Topics/Cholesterol/What-is-Cholesterol.pdf

My cholesterol guide – American Heart Association. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://www.heart.org/-/media/files/health-topics/cholesterol/my-cholesterol-guide-english.pdf?la=en

Cholesterol myths vs. Facts – American Heart Association. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://www.heart.org/-/media/Files/Health-Topics/Cholesterol/Cholesterol-Myths-vs-Facts-English.pdf

Grundy, S. M., Stone, N. J., Bailey, A. L., Beam, C., Birtcher, K. K., Blumenthal, R. S., Braun, L. T., de Ferranti, S., Faiella-Tommasino, J., Forman, D. E., Goldberg, R., Heidenreich, P. A., Hlatky, M. A., Jones, D. W., Lloyd-Jones, D., Lopez-Pajares, N., Ndumele, C. E., Orringer, C. E., Peralta, C. A., … Yeboah, J. (2019). 2018 AHA/ACC/AACVPR/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/ADA/AGS/APHA/ASPC/NLA/PCNA guideline on the management of blood cholesterol: A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Circulation, 139(25). https://doi.org/10.1161/cir.0000000000000625