Cholesterol too high? Medications can help

Too much of a good thing. That's what you have if you have high cholesterol - one of the major risk factors for Heart disease.

Cholesterol is needed by every cell of your body. But your risk of Heart disease goes up considerably if you have too much of this waxy, fatty substance in your blood. If your cholesterol stays high, it can build up in your arteries and block the flow of blood to your heart, which can lead to a Heart Attack.

High cholesterol causes as many as half of all deaths each year from Heart disease, the nation's No. 1 killer of both men and women. To control it, you may need to take a cholesterol-lowering drug.

Do you need medication?

Whether you need a cholesterol-lowering drug depends on a number of factors including the levels of cholesterol and other fats in your blood and your risk of Heart disease.

Measuring your cholesterol

Cholesterol and triglycerides - another form of fat, or lipid - are carried through your bloodstream by proteins called apoproteins. The combination of a lipid and an apoprotein is called a lipoprotein. A typical blood-screening test measures the level of two such substances, which increase your Heart disease risk: low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad" cholesterol" and triglycerides. It also measures the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the "good" cholesterol, which protects against Heart disease. In the United States, each measurement is expressed in terms of milligrams per deciliter, or mg/dL.

Your LDL cholesterol level is especially important because LDL forms fatty plaques in the walls of arteries. As plaques form in your blood vessels, they restrict blood flow to your heart, which can cause chest pain (angina) and lead to a Heart Attack. A blood clot also may form on a buildup of plaques and block an artery, causing a Heart Attack.

If you're age 20 or older, have your cholesterol measured at your doctor's office at least once every five years.

Evaluating your risk of Heart disease
The following factors increase your risk of Heart disease and help your doctor decide whether to recommend a cholesterol-lowering drug.

• Age. If you're a woman, it's either age 55 or older or any age at which you may have experienced premature menopause. If you're a man, it's age 45 or older.