How Statins Affect Triglycerides
- Triglycerides are a type of fat in your blood that your body stores for energy. High levels can increase your risk of heart problems over time.
- Normal triglyceride levels are below 150 mg/dL. Eating too many calories, especially from sugar and refined carbs, can raise triglyceride levels.
- Statins can also lower triglyceride levels, typically by 10% to 20%. The triglyceride-lowering effect of statins is usually more significant in people with higher starting levels.
- Statins help balance the fats in your blood, improving overall heart health.
- For very high triglyceride levels, additional medications beyond statins might be necessary.
High triglycerides are more common than many realize. Nearly one-third of adults in the United States have levels that are considered borderline high or higher. When levels rise too much, they can increase your risk of heart problems over time.
Most patients know statins are used to lower cholesterol, but fewer know that these same medications can also affect triglycerides.
What Are Triglycerides?
Triglycerides are a type of fat found in your blood. After you eat, your body converts any calories it doesn't need right away into triglycerides. These fats are then stored in fat cells and used later for energy, such as between meals or during physical activity. In a way, triglycerides act as backup fuel for your body.
Your body needs some triglycerides to function normally, but too much can cause problems, especially when levels stay high for a long time. The trouble begins when this extra fat starts to interfere with how your heart and blood vessels work.
Risk of High Triglycerides
Triglycerides are part of your lipid profile, which also includes LDL and HDL. These elements are usually checked together on a blood test called a lipid panel.
Having high triglyceride levels on their own can increase your risk of heart problems. However, this risk becomes even greater when high triglycerides are paired with high LDL or low HDL.
This combination makes it easier for fatty substances to build up inside the walls of your arteries, a condition called atherosclerosis. Over time, these buildups can narrow your arteries and restrict blood flow, making it harder for oxygen to reach your heart and brain. This significantly increases the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Triglycerides Levels
When doctors discuss high triglycerides, they consider them in relation to other fats in your blood. If your triglycerides are high and your LDL cholesterol is also high, or your HDL is too low, it raises more significant concerns about your heart health.
- Normal: Less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL)
- Borderline high: 150–199 mg/dL
- High: 200–499 mg/dL
- Very high: 500 mg/dL or more
Factors That Increase Triglycerides
- Eating large amounts of sugar, refined carbohydrates, alcohol, or fried foods
- Being overweight
- Lack of physical activity
- Type 2 diabetes or kidney disease
- Certain medications
You won’t usually feel anything if your triglycerides are high, as there are no obvious symptoms. That’s why regular lab tests are important. They help catch these changes early, before they lead to more serious problems with your heart or blood vessels.
How are Triglycerides Different from Cholesterol?
It's easy to confuse triglycerides and cholesterol because both are types of fat found in the blood, and both are measured during the same blood test. However, they are not the same thing and serve different purposes in your body.
- Triglycerides are a form of stored energy. When you eat more calories than your body needs, especially from sugary foods or excess carbohydrates, your body converts those extra calories into triglycerides. These triglycerides are then stored in fat cells and can be released later to provide energy.
- Cholesterol: is not used for energy. It acts as a building block. Your body uses cholesterol to build cell walls, make certain hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, and produce vitamin D.
You need some cholesterol to survive, but too much, especially too much LDL cholesterol, can lead to fatty deposits in your arteries.
When cholesterol is high, it may point to problems with how your liver processes fats or how cholesterol is being cleared from the blood.
| Triglycerides | Cholesterol |
|---|---|
| Stored for energy | Used to build hormones and cells |
| Increases with extra calories | Increases with saturated fats |
| Linked closely to what and how much you eat | Can be affected by diet, but also by how your body makes and clears cholesterol |
| Increases your risk of heart disease and pancreatitis | High LDL and low HDL increase your risk of heart disease and stroke |
What are Statins and How Do They Work?
Statins are a group of medications that help lower cholesterol levels. Doctors often prescribe them to people at risk of heart disease, heart attack, or stroke.
To understand statins, it's helpful to know that your liver makes most of the cholesterol in your blood. Your liver uses a specific enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase to make cholesterol. Statins work by blocking this enzyme. When the enzyme is blocked, your liver produces less cholesterol.
Lowering LDL Cholesterol
When your liver makes less cholesterol, it starts to pull more cholesterol out of your bloodstream to make up the difference. It does this by increasing the number of LDL receptors on the surface of liver cells, which catch LDL cholesterol and remove it from your blood. This process causes LDL cholesterol levels to drop, which is the main reason statins are used.
Other Benefits of Statins
- Increase HDL cholesterol: HDL carries extra cholesterol away from your arteries and back to your liver, where it can be processed and removed.
- Lower triglycerides: Statins can lower triglycerides, especially in patients with high triglyceride levels. While they are not as powerful at lowering triglycerides as some other medications, they can still make a noticeable difference, particularly with certain statins and higher doses.
The Overall Benefit: Balancing Blood Fats
While primarily used to lower LDL cholesterol, statins do more than that. They help improve the balance of fats in your blood by lowering LDL, raising HDL, and reducing triglycerides.
Do Statins Help Lower Triglycerides?
Statins are most commonly used to lower LDL cholesterol. However, many people are surprised to learn that statins can also help lower triglycerides.
On average, statins tend to lower triglyceride levels by around 10% to 20%. This reduction is usually more noticeable in individuals who start with higher triglyceride levels.
Greater Reduction for Higher Starting Levels
For those with triglyceride levels above 250 mg/dL, the drop from statins can be even greater, sometimes reaching up to 40% or more. However, if triglyceride levels are only slightly above normal, the reduction tends to be smaller.
Statins in the Moderate Triglyceride Range
Most major studies on statins have focused on patients with triglyceride levels in a middle range, typically between 100 and 200 mg/dL. This is because very high triglyceride levels (over 350 or 400 mg/dL) usually require different treatments. Within that middle range, statins still show consistent, though moderate, triglyceride-lowering effects.
How Statins Help with Triglycerides
The reason statins help with triglycerides is related to how they improve the overall balance of fats in the bloodstream. Besides lowering LDL, they also reduce non-HDL cholesterol and certain markers of inflammation, all of which play a role in heart health.
The Link Between Triglycerides and Heart Disease Risk
The exact role of triglycerides in heart disease risk is still being researched. Some studies suggest that patients with lower triglyceride levels after treatment tend to have better heart outcomes. Other studies haven't found a clear connection.
If your triglyceride levels are above normal and you're already taking a statin, your doctor might consider the triglyceride-lowering effect a helpful extra benefit. If your triglycerides are very high, it's worth discussing additional treatment options that can work with statins to help lower them further.
Talk to Your Doctor
If you’re not sure what your triglyceride levels mean or whether a statin might be right for you, it’s always good to bring it up with your doctor. These conversations can be helpful, even if you’re just trying to understand your options. Your doctor can walk you through your lab results, talk about your health goals, and help you figure out whether treatment is needed or not.