Ask a Texas Heart Institute Doctor
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Question:
What cholesterol levels determine if one should be on medication? My cholesterol has been staying around 145 range in last 12 years, LDL is around 80's range, HDL has been around 37. I went to see my heart doctor who prescribes me Crestor 10mg. He likes to see the HDL increase. After 3 months medication, the blood test results are HDL 37, LDL 51, Total 111. It did not turn up on my HDL, but a 40% decrease in LDL, so he asked me to continue using the Crestor 10mg. I went to see my family doctor later. He saw the report and he is against me taking any drugs, he said, because my cholestrol total is low and coronary risk is below average, there is no need for this drug at this time.
I am confused ...Can you help?
submitted by Andy, from Arcadia, California 2/7/09
Answer:
by Texas Heart Institute cardiologist, Mehdi Razavi, MD 
I realize this can be confusing. The important point in your case is that elevating the "good" cholesterol (HDL) can be very challenging. It is thought that exercise and very moderate alcohol consumption (not more than one glass of red wine per day) may increase HDL levels in patients who have never had problems with alcohol abuse. As you may be aware, Crestor was recently shown to be effective in patients who did not have significant baseline elevations in their cholesterol level. The decision to continue this medication must be made keeping in mind other factors such as your tolerance of the medication, other risk factors for coronary disease, history of side effects (including liver and muscle abnormalities), your ability to comply with regular medication use, and other factors which only your physicians can assess. Your best bet is to ask your doctors to confer with each other and come up with a consensus. You shouldn't be shy about matters involving your health.
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Updated February 2009
