What to do if you are diagnosed with high blood lipids? Choose Lipitor and Atorvastatin to control blood lipids and protect your heart and brain

Every time I check my physical examination report, it's like opening a "blind box". Especially when I see the "↑" and "↓" arrows, I feel a little uneasy. According to the annual physical examination statistics report released by Beijing, dyslipidemia has become the abnormal indicator with the highest detection rate. In China, 4 out of every 10 adults have dyslipidemia. As the most hidden "gentle killer", long-term dyslipidemia can block blood vessels, and in severe cases can cause cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, and stroke. So, what should I do if I find out that I have high blood lipids? Let's unlock the "pass code" for blood lipid management through this article.

What to do if you are diagnosed with hyperlipidemia? Don’t worry! Risk stratification first

If blood lipids are high for a long time, lipids may gradually deposit in the endothelium of blood vessels, forming atherosclerotic plaques, leading to vascular lesions and even stenosis. Severe cases may also induce atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD) such as coronary heart disease and stroke, posing a great health threat to people. To understand effective methods of lowering blood lipids, you need to first understand the different risk levels of hyperlipidemia, and then you can intervene in a targeted manner. At present, according to the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), disease status, and the number and level of other ASCVD risk factors, hyperlipidemia patients can be divided into five risk levels. Let's take a closer look below.

1. Low-risk group & moderate-risk group: People who have not experienced ASCVD events, have no other medical history and risk factors, and only have slight abnormalities in blood lipids;

2. High-risk group: People who have not experienced ASCVD events but have severe dyslipidemia, LDL-C ≥ 4.9 mmol/L or TC ≥ 7.2 mmol/L, or people aged ≥ 40 years with diabetes, chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 3-4, etc., who meet any of the above conditions can be considered as high-risk groups;

3. Ultra-high-risk group: patients who have experienced ≥2 severe ASCVD events, such as myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, etc.; or patients who have experienced 1 severe ASCVD event and have ≥2 high-risk factors;

4. Extremely high-risk population: usually refers to other ASCVD patients who do not meet the ultra-high-risk criteria.

Generally speaking, for low- and medium-risk groups, lifestyle intervention is the main strategy, such as keeping a light diet, increasing dietary fiber intake, reducing fat and refined carbohydrate intake, etc. At the same time, it is also necessary to appropriately increase the amount of exercise, control weight, and quit smoking and drinking.

For people at high risk or above, due to the high probability of ASCVD events, they need to take timely medication treatment on the basis of lifestyle intervention to prevent excess cholesterol in the body from burdening the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems and increasing the probability of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease events.

What to do if you are diagnosed with high blood lipids? Choose Lipitor Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets to lower blood lipids and stabilize plaques

In terms of lipid-lowering medication, the Chinese Guidelines for Blood Lipid Management (2023) mentions that statins are the cornerstone of lipid-lowering medication for dyslipidemia[2] and are widely used in clinical lipid-lowering treatment. Among them, Lipitor atorvastatin calcium tablets, as a medium-strength statin, are known as the "all-rounder" for lipid-lowering[1] and are the preferred drug for lipid-lowering treatment[2].

First, in terms of lipid-lowering effects, Lipitor can significantly reduce blood lipid levels. Taking 10-80 mg can reduce lipids by 37%-55%[3]. It is also effective in inhibiting plaque formation and reducing the risk of serious cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction and cerebral infarction[4][5][6][7]. Taking Lipitor Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets for 3-5 years can reduce the risk by 33%. Taking it for more than 6 years can reduce the risk by 36%, building a safe barrier for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health.

In addition to the therapeutic effect, people with high blood lipids usually pay more attention to drug safety. After all, lipid-lowering treatment is a long-term process. Choosing drugs with high safety and few side effects is more reassuring for long-term use. In this regard, Lipitor, which has been on the market for more than 20 years and is a classic original brand of lipid-lowering drugs, has undergone rigorous safety verification and clinical trials before its launch. After its launch, it has passed more than 400 clinical studies including the CARDS study, SPARCL study, ASCOT study, IDEAL study, and pediatric patient study. At the same time, it has 330 million patient-years of experience, and its safety is more trustworthy.

In terms of adverse reactions that everyone is concerned about, long-term use of Lipitor Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets only causes mild muscle pain, intestinal discomfort and other symptoms. It is worth mentioning that Lipitor Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets are suitable for a wide range of people. Even for patients with abnormal renal function, long-term use will not increase the burden on the kidneys and does not require dosage adjustment [8]. For special populations such as the high-risk and above hyperlipidemia population mentioned above, including elderly patients, it is also recommended to use Lipitor Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets for lipid-lowering treatment in clinical practice.

Finally, the packaging of Lipitor has changed, and the logo has become Viatris. But everyone should be clear that this is just the company that owns the product that has completed the official name change, and the packaging has changed accordingly, but the essence of the drug has not changed. Its efficacy is still the same, it is still the original Lipitor, and the ingredients are no different. The quality of the drug is strictly controlled from raw material procurement to production process. Therefore, you can use the newly packaged Lipitor with confidence, and its quality and efficacy are still reliable.

In short, what should you do if you are diagnosed with high blood lipids during a physical examination? First, confirm your risk level based on the examination report. If you are a medium- or low-risk patient, you should focus on lifestyle intervention, such as maintaining a healthy diet, exercising properly, controlling your weight, keeping a regular schedule, staying away from tobacco and alcohol, maintaining a good attitude, and living a healthy life. If you persist for a period of time and the blood lipid control effect is not good, you can follow the doctor's advice for drug treatment. If you are a high-risk group or above, it is recommended to start drug treatment as soon as possible. The use of highly effective lipid-lowering, plaque-stabilizing, and safe lipid-lowering drugs such as Lipitor Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets can help blood lipids return to the normal range, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events.

References:

[1] Liu Mingbo, He Xinye, Yang Xiaohong, et al. Interpretation of the key points of the "China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report 2023"[J]. Journal of Clinical Cardiology, 2024, 40(8): 599-616.

[2] Wang Zengwu, Liu Jing, Li Jianjun, et al. Chinese guidelines for blood lipid management (2023)[J]. Chinese Journal of Circulation, 2023, 38(03): 237-271.

[3] MR Law, et al. BMJ . 2003;326(7404):1423

[4] Liu Z, et al. Ann Pharmacother. 2016 Sep;50(9):725-33.

[5 ] Cannon CP, et al. N Engl J Med. 2004;350(15):1495-504

[6 ] Athyros VG, et al. Curr Med Res Opin. 2002;18:220-8

[7 ] Amarenco P, et al. N Engl J Med. 2006;355:549-59.

[8] Joint Expert Committee for the Revision of the Chinese Lipid Management Guidelines. Chinese Lipid Management Guidelines (2023). Chinese Journal of Circulation. 2023;38(3): 237-271. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-3614.2023.03.001