Lipitor and Other Statins - Low Incidence of Side Effects

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past twenty years, you are aware of the fact that high cholesterol is a bad thing to have if you are a fan of a ticking heart. You are also probably aware that the old-fashioned methods of lowering high cholesterol are to get some exercise and to eat foods that are low in saturated fats. But, if you are like many citizens of this fine country, you hate to exercise and love to eat foods that are high in saturated fats. McDonalds isn't a bazillion-dollar company for nothing. So what do you do if getting exercise and maintaining a proper diet seem to be beyond your capabilities? Well, if you are like many people with high cholesterol and low willpower, you ask your doctor about getting a prescription for a Statin.

A 'Statin' is a class of high-powered cholesterol-lowering drugs - one of the most popular being Lipitor. While the doctor should first and foremost recommend diet and exercise for lowering your cholesterol, there are a several factors that might determine that drug therapy is the best bet for you. First of all, if you are one of the millions of people that can not seem to achieve a proper balance of diet and exercise, and your cholesterol level is too high, you are probably a good candidate for being put on a Statin. Other risk factors are if you have high blood pressure, a low level of good cholesterol, a family history of early heart disease, and if you are 45 or older if a man and 55 or older if a woman. Your doctor should weigh your various risk factors before putting you on a Statin.

While ingesting any kind of drug is not generally the first approach that anyone should take to curing a problem, Statins such as Lipitor have been shown to have a very low incident of side effects - although it is possible that the higher the dose that your are on, the higher the possibility of side effects - and have also shown promise for treating other problems. It is possible that Statins could lower the progression of multiple-sclerosis, possibly increase bone formation (possible use for treatment of osteoporosis), and possibly even reduce the risk of Alzheimer's.