Don't want to take cholesterol medications? Discover how you may change your diet instead.

Shalizeh Shokooh, M.D., Co-Medical Director and Cardiologist

Visit Dr. Shalizeh Shokooh, M.D., the Co-Medical Director
Cardiologist of St. Joseph Hospital Women’s Heart Center in Orange, CA
Dr. Shalizeh Shokooh: Women and men have differences in the fact they are different because women have the estrogens to protect them until menopause and so usually women have higher HDL, the good cholesterol, but as they get older they may see a drop in their HDL.

The reason that we put some patients on medication for their cholesterol is because high cholesterol and the low HDL and high triglycerides are risk factors for heart disease. Now for the cholesterol, there is a whole guideline of when one should go on medication and if the cholesterol is little bit up and it can be changed with diet and exercise. Yes the first recommendation is diet and exercise, but if the number goes very high and they do have other risk factors and they have heart disease, then they should be medication per recommendation and guidelines.

Dr. Shokooh is also the co-author of Women and Heart Disease, An Epidemic