Drugs – Topics

If you wind up needing medication, think about how fortunate we are today to have these generally safe and highly effective drugs available to us. Not too long ago all cardiologists could do for their patients was hold their hands, watching them succumb to a disease they couldn’t control. Today we have the means at...

The American pharmaceutical industry spent more than $30 billion in 2001 researching and developing new drugs. Not surprisingly, companies tend to focus much of their research in areas that promise the biggest sales potential, such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. And with an estimated 36 million Americans walking around with cholesterol levels high enough...

First the proviso: Aspirin won’t lower your cholesterol. But its effects on blood clotting and inflammation are so significant that anyone with known heart disease, diabetes, or two or more risk factors for heart disease (and no problems taking aspirin) should talk to their doctor about taking a daily baby aspirin. Aspirin acts like WD-40...

This class of drug, in use for more than 40 years with no major problems, acts like super glue, binding with bile acids in the intestines so that the acids are removed with the stool. Bile acids (which help your body digest fatty foods) are made from cholesterol in the liver. Ordinarily, as they pass...

Fibric acid derivatives, or fibrates, affect the actions of key enzymes in the liver, enabling the liver to absorb more fatty acids, thus reducing production of triglycerides. These drugs also work well at increasing production of HDL. Although they can also lower LDL levels, they’re not considered first-line treatments for high LDL or total cholesterol...

Niacin (nicotinic acid) is one of the oldest cholesterol-lowering drugs. A member of the B vitamin family, it’s found in fruits, vegetables, meats. and grains, as well as in most multivitamins. At doses up to 35 milligrams per day, niacin is considered a supplement, but if you’re taking it at doses high enough to lower...