Does lowering LDL cholesterol prevent heart attacks and strokes?
Lowering LDL cholesterol is currently one of the primary public health initiatives preventing atherosclerosis and heart attacks. The benefits of lowering LDL cholesterol include: • reducing or stopping the formation of new cholesterol plaques on the artery walls; • reducing existing cholesterol plaques on the artery walls and widening the arteries; • preventing the rupture of cholesterol plaques, which initiates blood clot formation and blocks blood vessels; • decreasing the risk of heart attacks; and • decreasing the risk of strokes. The same measures that decrease narrowing in coronary arteries also may benefit the carotid and cerebral arteries (arteries that deliver blood to the brain). How can LDL cholesterol levels be lowered? Therapeutic lifestyle changes to lower cholesterol Therapeutic lifestyle changes to lower LDL cholesterol involves losing excess weight, exercising regularly, and following a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Medications to lower cholesterol
