Cholesterol medication when no other risk factors

[Ina]

I am a  58 yr. old Asian female, post menopausal for the last 14   yrs.  Recently I had a physical in which all my tests proved to be excellent save my cholesterol count which was 291, with HDH at 55 and LDL at 175.  There is absolutely no history of heart problems in my family, I am not overweight, I do not smoke, I do weight training twice a week plus use a treadmill four times a week, I eat very little fats, no red meats, no eggs or butter, but do eat lots of fruits and veggies.  My blood pressure is 120 over 80 and I  have no sugar problems or any other risk factors that I know of.  Since all of the above is true, is it really advisable for me to begin a drug therapy which might negatively affect my liver?  I am confused since most of the literature concerns people who have some risk factors that I do not have and therefore would warrant aggressive treatment for high cholesterol such as mine.  Should I seek a second opinion before taking Lipitor or some other medication for my high cholesterol because I really hate taking any kind of drugs, not only because of the expense, but because I try and maintain a totally natural state of physical health.

[CCF CARDIO MD JMF]

Dear INa,

Absolutely,

you should begin lipid lowering therapy and target and LDL of less than 130.  You might consider using pravachol 40 mg rather than lipitor as this has less side effects and does not cause as much liver abnormalities as reported with Lipitor.  Once your liver enzymes are checked at 8 weeks following the initiation of therapy and assuming you do not change your dose, there is no further reason to be concerned about or nmonitor LFTS with pravachol.

I hope this has been useful. I wish you the best of luck. Feel free to write back.

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