Cholesterol Numbers – Mayo Clinic
Raised cholesterol levels
I have had a lipid test recently and my cholesterol levels were found to be on the high side. Will this be a problem in my treatment for high BP?
Lipid level abnormalities are often present in people with high BP. They both contribute to an increased risk of cardiovascular Hypertension with other problems disease. Evidence now suggests that the BP-lowering effects of such drugs as diuretics and beta-blockers exceed any possible changes in people’s lipid profiles. Therefore, even in people with raised cholesterol levels, treatment with thiazides and beta-blockers can still be recommended as a first treatment.
What will I probably be given?
Statins are very effective in reducing LDL and VLDL blood cholesterol for an explanation of these terms). Inflammation of muscle cells (‘myositis’) has occurred in about 1 in 200 people treated, causing muscle pain, weakness or unexplained fever. Other possible side effects are headache and liver damage. Regular monitoring of liver function is recommended, every 6 weeks for the first 15 months and occasionally thereafter.
Statins are a new class of very effective and well tolerated cholesterol-lowering drugs, introduced in 1989. So far there are five drugs in this group, pravastatin (Lipostat), atorvastatin (Lipitor), cerivastatin (Lipobay), fluvastatin (Lescol) and simvastatin (Zocor). They act by inhibiting an enzyme involved in cholesterol synthesis.
It has been shown that statins are highly effective drugs for people both with and without existing coronary heart disease. Recent randomized trials of statins in patients with high BP (who hadn’t suffered a heart attack in the past) have shown that the chance of suffering a fatal or non-fatal heart attack was reduced from 5% to 3% over 5 years. In women, at lower such risk, the benefits of statins may well be more modest. Current thinking is that people with moderately raised cholesterol levels should have their risk assessed, and that their BP and cholesterol treatment should be decided in the light of this assessment.
