Treatment of high cholesterol
Changing your lifestyle including your diet and getting more active can help treat high cholesterol. Medication can help too. Find out more below.
Many people can reduce their cholesterol by following the advice on our preventing high cholesterol page.
But if your cholesterol level hasn't dropped after a few months, you may need medication to lower your cholesterol.
Taking medication for your cholesterol
If you are at high risk of type 2 diabetes, you will likely benefit from taking a statin to reduce your CVD risk. Your healthcare professional will help to make a decision if this is the right thing for you.
Statins reduce cholesterol production in the liver as well as having a number of other effects.
Your doctor or nurse may recommend starting a medicine called atorvastatin, usually at 20mg. If you are struggling with side effects, talk to the doctor in charge of your care.
Your cholesterol levels will usually be re-checked after three months of statin treatment, looking for a reduction in non-HDL cholesterol of greater than 40%.
If your non-HDL cholesterol hasn't reduced enough, the dose may need to be adjusted or you may need a different type of statin.
Other medicines which may be used, but are not as common, include:
- Ezetimibe, which blocks the absorption of cholesterol from food and bile juices in your intestines into your blood.
- Bempedoic acid, which reduces the production of cholesterol.
- Alirocumab or evolocumab, which is injected every two weeks to help the liver remove cholesterol from the blood.
- Inclisiran, which is for people who have had a heart attack or stroke and is injected every six months to help the liver remove cholesterol from the blood.
Treatment for children
The treatment for children with familial (or inherited) hypercholesterolaemia is different. Children should always see a specialist doctor, who will look at things such as family history, their age and cholesterol level.
Discover our Learning Zone to find out more about programmes and interactive content that can help make some simple healthy tweaks.
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