How Long Does It Take To Lower Cholesterol? Cardiologists Explain the Real Timeline ...Saudi Arabia

High LDL cholesterol can sneak up on you. It happens slowly over time and causes no symptoms whatsoever. According to a study published in JAMA Cardiology, 42.7% of U.S. adults with high LDL cholesterol don’t know they have it. When high cholesterol is undetected and untreated, it can be dangerous. High cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease.    

According to Dr. Melissa Tracy, MD, a cardiologist and the director of cardiac rehab at Rush University System for Health in Chicago, one of the primary causes of high cholesterol is a diet consisting primarily of fast foods and ultra-processed foods. 

Related: Cardiologists Are Begging People To Stop Ignoring This Important Cholesterol Number

“The American diet is overburdened with sources of cholesterol. When we are looking for a quick, easy meal, we typically resort to fast food. Fast food, with the processed meats and French fries, are loaded with cholesterol and fat,” she says. Besides processed meats and fried foods, Dr. Tracy notes that other foods that can raise cholesterol when eaten regularly are processed desserts, butter and cheese. 

It’s not just an unhealthy diet that can cause high LDL cholesterol. Dr. Robert Burke, MD, FACC, a cardiologist with Banner Health in Scottsdale, Arizona, says that high LDL cholesterol can also be genetic, which is called familial hypercholesterolemia. This health condition must be managed through medication; maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle habits is not enough.

If you have high cholesterol, regardless of the reason, lowering it is crucial to protecting your health. How long does it take? Even though high cholesterol is years in the making, you can lower it faster than you probably think.

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Both cardiologists say that the first step in lowering LDL cholesterol is through diet and exercise.

“Activity is absolutely the most essential [action] we can take. We have to be moving,” Dr. Burke says, explaining that the more you move throughout the day, the healthier you will be.

Dr. Tracy adds to this, saying, “Exercising and losing weight are the most reliable, holistic ways of lowering cholesterol. Exercise will reduce total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL. It will also modestly increase HDL, which is our protective cholesterol.” 

If you want to create an exercise routine that can help lower your cholesterol, a great place to start is with the American Heart Association’s guidelines. These guidelines recommend getting at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of heart-pumping physical activity a week, which comes out to about 25 minutes a day.

Related: The One Thing to Do Every Single Day If You Want to Lower LDL Cholesterol, According to Cardiologists

Remember how Dr. Tracy said that an unhealthy diet is one of the major drivers of high cholesterol? This also means that diet can be a powerful way to reduce cholesterol. If you have high cholesterol, Dr. Burke recommends following the Mediterranean diet or DASH diet, two eating plans that are scientifically shown to reduce LDL cholesterol. Both of these eating plans emphasize eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, fish and poultry while minimizing ultra-processed foods high in refined carbs, sugar and sodium.

Let’s say you spent years eating primarily fast food and ultra-processed foods and you rarely exercised, which resulted in high cholesterol. How quickly can you lower it if you adopt healthier diet and lifestyle habits? Dr. Tracy says that many people see a change in their cholesterol in about six months.

That said, she emphasizes that implementing healthier habits should be done gradually. “Many of the fad weight loss programs are not sustainable, so patients will do them for a very short period of time and then relapse back to their unhealthy patterns."

Related: Want To Lower Your Cholesterol? Cardiologists Say This Is the Best Diet To Follow

Dr. Burke also says that six months is a good amount of time to recheck lipid panels because it allows for diet and lifestyle changes to happen gradually and for new habits to stay firmly in place, versus only being followed for a few weeks.

When Is Medication Considered?

For some people with high LDL cholesterol, their cardiologist will recommend taking a cholesterol-lowering drug, such as statins. Dr. Tracy notes that statins are considered if someone has had a heart attack, stroke, a stent to their coronary artery or bypass surgery. She explains that they are often considered if someone has type 2 diabetes or if they have an elevated coronary calcium score. If someone has familial hypercholesterolemia, which is high cholesterol caused by genetics, she says this is another time when medication is often considered.

Both doctors emphasize that medication is not a replacement for adopting healthy diet and lifestyle habits. Medication works best alongside healthy habits. With this in mind, how long does it take to lower cholesterol when taking a cholesterol-lowering medication as well as having healthy diet and exercise habits in place? 

Dr. Burke explains that noticeable changes in cholesterol levels can be seen as quickly as two weeks. Though cholesterol-lowering medication can work this fast, both cardiologists say they wait roughly six weeks to recheck lipid panels.

Dr. Tracy explains that six weeks allows for enough time to see if the medication is working or if the dose or drug needs to be changed. She says that this is also enough time to make sure that the medication is not negatively impacting the liver or muscles, which can be a side effect of cholesterol-lowering medications. She adds that if any changes to the dose or drug need to be made, she makes them and then checks the labs again six weeks later. 

What both cardiologists want everyone with high cholesterol to know is that lowering it is possible—and it can happen faster than you think. Lowering your cholesterol will greatly reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Remember, high cholesterol can be asymptomatic, so if you aren’t sure whether you have it or not, be sure to have your doctor do a lipid panel at your next appointment to check. Knowing your numbers is the first step in being proactive about your heart health. 

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