How to lower cholestrol levels above 200?!
Question: Depends on whether your high cholesterol level is due to familial (from your family genes) or diet (if your eating alot of high cholesterol, fatty, junk foods. It's also dependent on your age and how much above 200 on how you will be treated.
Women who are pre-menopausal have hormones still protecting them and most likely if a little over 200 will be treated with diet and exercise. Men are usually placed on Lipitor or Zocor or another cholesterol lowering agent. (especially if they are over 40 years old.
Cholesterol levels over 250, you may be given a "statin" (cholesterol lowering drug which may be Lipitor, Zocor, Pravachol, etc...). but this drug will work better if the problem is family oriented. (rec'd from your family genes)
If the high cholesterol is purely food related, then diet/exercise and also an MD may order a drug called Zetia which works well for this type of high cholesterol.
If you have both family given (genetic) high cholesterol and cholesterol problems derived from what you eat, than your MD may give you a drug called Vytorin. This drug works great for both types!
PLEASE NOTE: knowing your total cholesterol level is only a piece of the puzzle. You must get a total lipid profile showing your HDL's (the good cholesterol; over 40 is good), the LDL (bad cholesterol; keep that under 100); your triglyceride levels and cardiac risk factor.
You cardiac risk factor is a given as a %. Just divide your total cholesterol number by your HDL number and you will get a %. Usually Over 4-5% is a high risk for heart disease, and one needs help with medications, diet, exercise with that risk.
Answers: Depends on whether your high cholesterol level is due to familial (from your family genes) or diet (if your eating alot of high cholesterol, fatty, junk foods. It's also dependent on your age and how much above 200 on how you will be treated.
Women who are pre-menopausal have hormones still protecting them and most likely if a little over 200 will be treated with diet and exercise. Men are usually placed on Lipitor or Zocor or another cholesterol lowering agent. (especially if they are over 40 years old.
Cholesterol levels over 250, you may be given a "statin" (cholesterol lowering drug which may be Lipitor, Zocor, Pravachol, etc...). but this drug will work better if the problem is family oriented. (rec'd from your family genes)
If the high cholesterol is purely food related, then diet/exercise and also an MD may order a drug called Zetia which works well for this type of high cholesterol.
If you have both family given (genetic) high cholesterol and cholesterol problems derived from what you eat, than your MD may give you a drug called Vytorin. This drug works great for both types!
PLEASE NOTE: knowing your total cholesterol level is only a piece of the puzzle. You must get a total lipid profile showing your HDL's (the good cholesterol; over 40 is good), the LDL (bad cholesterol; keep that under 100); your triglyceride levels and cardiac risk factor.
You cardiac risk factor is a given as a %. Just divide your total cholesterol number by your HDL number and you will get a %. Usually Over 4-5% is a high risk for heart disease, and one needs help with medications, diet, exercise with that risk.
Suggest you educate yourself about cholesterol and heart disease... there is a book, a very good one, written by nobel prize winner Dr. Louis Ignarro, called NO More Heart Disease. It is very easy to read and will teach you a great deal about the issues of cholesterol and heart disease, and he will explain how to avoid problems from both.