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Is lowering my cholesterol safe?

Answer: Yes. Cholesterol lowering itself is safe, as is the diet used to lower cholesterol. Like all medications, drugs used to lower cholesterol can have side effects, but when used by people who have a high risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD), the benefits outweigh the risks. Four recent studies, three in patients who already had CHD and one in people free of CHD, showed that, over a period of 5 years, large reductions in total and LDL ("bad") cholesterol substantially reduced the chances of having a heart attack or dying from heart disease, reduced overall death rates, and produced no increase in any noncardiovascular causes of death, such as cancer, suicide, homicide, or accidents. These results have been confirmed by a combined analysis of 16 recent studies.

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