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  • Statin drugs lower cholesterol. By lowering cholesterol, they can help reduce your risk for heart disease, heart attack and stroke. The type and dose you take will depend on several factors. Doctors like using statins because they have a much lower risk of interacting with other medications you might be taking for high cholesterol.

    Statins and Cholesterol

    Different cholesterol drugs lower cholesterol in different ways. Statins block your body from producing a substance necessary for cholesterol production. They also reabsorb cholesterol lining the arteries, which reduces blockages.

    When to Use Statins

    Your doctor will assess your risk factors for developing complications of high cholesterol like heart attack, heart disease and stroke before giving you statins or other medications. If your only risk factor is high cholesterol (over 240 mg/dL), he might not prescribe statins and instead suggest starting with lifestyle modifications. If these changes are not lowering your "bad" cholesterol, he will probably prescribe medication.

    Lowering Triglycerides

    If you have high triglycerides (type of fat used for energy) in addition to high cholesterol, your doctor might give you a combination of statins and niacin (vitamin B3) or statin and fibric acid.

    Blood Vessel Health

    Besides lowering cholesterol, statins might have anti-inflammatory properties according to the Mayo Clinic. This can improve blood vessel health, reducing the risks of heart attacks and blood clots and keeping blood pressure stable. This has led many doctors to give statins before and after certain heart procedures and types of strokes.

    Other Possible Uses

    The Mayo Clinic states it might benefit other conditions based on research. They include bone health, reducing cancer risk, brain health and kidney health.

    Source:

    The Mayo Clinic

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