Cholesterol Management

Cardio Vascular Disease (including heart attacks and strokes) is the single most common cause of death in the UK. Along with diet and exercise, statins are seen as an important tool in the fight against heart disease.

Crestor - the most potent and recently introduced statin - has been shown to reduce heart attacks and save lives, even in people whose cholesterol is not raised.

If you want to find out more about this treatment, MyOnlineDoctor can help. Our confidential service provides genuine medication with zero inconvenience. It allows you to obtain the treatment you need without leaving home.

Crestor

Find out more about Cholesterol management;

About Cholesterol
Statin Overview

About Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a lipid (fat) produced by the liver from the fatty foods that we eat. Cholesterol is vital for the normal functioning of the body.

However, high cholesterol causes narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis), which in turn leads to heart attacks and strokes. If other risk factors, such as high blood pressure, being overweight and smoking, are present, the risk of coronary heart disease increases even more.

Fortunately, you can reduce this risk with a combination of lifestyle changes and drug treatments, including statins

Statin Overview

The main type of drugs used to reduce cholesterol levels are called statins. They work by blocking an enzyme needed for cholesterol production, mostly in the liver. There are five currently approved in the UK - simvastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, atorvastatin and fluvastatin.

Statins can reduce total cholesterol levels by more than 20%, and LDL levels by more than 30%. Overall, they can reduce the risk of having a heart attack or stroke by about a quarter.

While statins are primarily prescribed to people with high levels of cholesterol, this is not exclusive. Though reduction of cholesterol is important, heart disease is complex and other factors such as inflammation may play a role. Thirty-five percent of individuals who develop heart attacks do not have high blood cholesterol levels, yet most of them have atherosclerosis. This means that high levels of cholesterol are not always necessary for heart risk to be present. Risk factors include:

A family history of heart attacks (particularly at a young age)
Increasing age
Diabetes
Obesity
Smoking

NICE, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, has made the following recommendations about the use of statins to prevent cardiovascular events such as heart attacks.

Adults with clinical evidence of Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD) should receive statin treatment. (This means adults who have had a heart attack or who have a condition such as angina or peripheral arterial disease.)
Adults who have a 20 per cent or greater risk of developing CVD in the next ten years should receive statin treatment.( i.e. those with the risk factors highlighted above)