Cholesterol Lowering Medications Glossary of Terms

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Abdominal: Relating to the abdomen, the belly, that part of the body that contains all of ...

Abdominal pain: Pain in the belly. Abdominal pain can be acute or chronic. It may reflect ...

Absorb: 1. To take something in, as through the skin or the intestine.
2....

Absorption: Uptake. For example, intestinal absorption is the uptake of food (or other sub...

Analysis: In psychology, a term for conversation-based therapeutic processes used to gain ...

Angina: Chest pain due to an inadequate supply of oxygen to the heart muscle. The pain is ...

Angioedema: Like hives but affects deeper skin layer.

Arms: An appendage in anatomy and in clinical trials. See: Arm.

Artery: A vessel that carries blood high in oxygen content away from the heart to the far...

Aspirin: Once the Bayer trademark for acetylsalicylic acid, now the common name for this a...

Atherosclerosis: A process of progressive thickening and hardening of the walls of medium-...

Back pain: Pain felt in the low or upper back. Causes of pain in the low and upper back in...

Bile: Bile is a yellow-green fluid that is made by the liver, stored in the gallbladder a...

Bile acid: An acid made by the liver that works with bile to break down fats.

Biliary: Having to do with the gallbladder, bile ducts, or bile. The biliary system itself...

Birth control: Birth control is the use of any practices, methods, or devices to prevent p...

Blood clots: Blood that has been converted from a liquid to a solid state. Also called a t...

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is...

Blood sugar: Blood glucose. See also: High blood sugar; Low blood sugar.

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Breastfeeding: Feeding a child human breast milk. According to the American Academy of Ped...

Capsule: Capsule has many meanings in medicine including the following:

1. In medici...

Cardiovascular: Relating to the circulatory system, which comprises the heart and blood ve...

Cardiovascular disease: Disease affecting the heart or blood vessels.

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small c...

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

Chest pain: Pain in the chest that can be a result of many things, including angina, heart...

Cholesterol: The most common type of steroid in the body. Cholesterol has a reputation for...

Cirrhosis: Liver disease characterized by irreversible scarring. Alcohol and viral hepatit...

Constipation: Infrequent and frequently incomplete bowel movements. Constipation is the op...

Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus. Diabetes mell...

Diarrhea: A common condition that involves unusually frequent and liquid bowel movements. ...

Dilating: The widening and opening of an opening, such as the cervix or esophagus. For exa...

Dioxin: One of a number of poisonous petroleum-derived chemicals which are produced when h...

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

Enzyme: A protein (or protein-based molecule) that speeds up a chemical reaction in a livi...

Erectile dysfunction: A consistent inability to sustain an erection sufficient for sexual ...

Erythromycin: Erythromycin is a common antibiotic for treating bacterial infection. Sold...

Familial: A condition that tends to occur more often in family members than is expected by...

Familial hypercholesterolemia: The most common inherited type of hyperlipidemia (high lipi...

Family history: The family structure and relationships within the family, including inform...

Fasting: : going without food or drink. Patients may be advised to fast for a certain peri...

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

Food and Drug Administration: An agency within the US Public Health Service that provides ...

Gallbladder: A pear-shaped organ located below the liver that stores the bile secreted by ...

Gallstones: Stones that form when substances in the bile harden. Gallstones can be as smal...

Gastrointestinal: Adjective referring collectively to the stomach and small and large inte...

Gastrointestinal tract: The stomach and intestines. Abbreviated GI tract.

Gout: Condition characterized by abnormally elevated levels of uric acid in the blood, rec...

HDL: High density lipoprotein.

HDL cholesterol: High density lipoprotein cholesterol. Lipoproteins, which are combination...

Headache: A pain in the head with the pain being above the eyes or the ears, behind the he...

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Heart attack: The death of heart muscle due to the loss of blood supply. The loss of bloo...

Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is ...

Hepatitis: Inflammation of the liver, irrespective of the cause. Hepatitis is caused by a ...

Herbal: 1. An adjective, referring to herbs, as in an herbal tea.
2. A...

Heterozygous: Possessing two different forms of a particular gene, one inherited from each...

High blood pressure: A repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90 mmHg. Chro...

HIV: Acronym for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the cause of AIDS (acquired immunodefi...

Hormone: A chemical substance produced in the body that controls and regulates the activit...

Hot flashes: A sudden wave of mild or intense body heat caused by rushes of hormonal chang...

Hypercholesterolemia: High blood cholesterol. This can be sporadic (occurring with no fami...

Hyperglycemia: A high blood sugar. An elevated level specifically of the sugar glucose in...

Immune: Protected against infection, usually by the presence of antibodies.

Immune system: A complex system that is responsible for distinguishing a person from every...

Impotence: A common problem among men characterized by the consistent inability to sustai...

International normalized ratio: A system established by the World Health Organization (WHO...

Intestine: The long, tubelike organ in the abdomen that completes the process of digestion...

Joint: The area where two bones are attached for the purpose of permitting body parts to m...

Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen. The kid...

LDL cholesterol: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, commonly referred to as 'bad' choles...

Lipid: Another word for "fat." (Please see the various meanings of Fat.) A lipid is more f...

Lipid profile: A pattern of lipids in the blood. A lipid profile usually includes the leve...

Lipitor: See: Atorvastatin.

Lipoprotein: A molecule that is a combination of lipid and protein. Lipids do not travel i...

Lipoproteins: Complexes of lipid and protein, the way lipids travel in the blood.

Liver: The largest solid organ in the body, situated in the upper part of the abdomen on t...

Liver disease: Liver disease refers to any disorder of the liver. The liver is a large org...

Medical history: 1. In clinical medicine, the patient's past and present which may ...

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. T...

Myopathy: Any and all diseases of muscle.

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

Neck: The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constric...

Neuropathy: Any disease or malfunction of the nerves.

Niacin: Nicotinic acid, one of the B-complex B vitamins. Deficiency of niacin in the diet...

Nicotinic acid: Deficiency of nicotinic acid (also known as niacin), one of the B-complex ...

Obesity: The state of being well above one's normal weight.

Obstruction: Blockage of a passageway. See, for example: Airway obstruction; Intestinal o...

Organ: A relatively independent part of the body that carries out one or more special func...

Overweight: The term "overweight" is used in two different ways. In one sense it is a way ...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Pancreatitis: Inflammation of the pancreas. Of the many causes of pancreatitis, the most c...

Pediatric: Pertaining to children.

Penicillin: The most famous of all antibiotics, named for the fungal mold Penicillium n...

Peptic ulcer: An ulcer in the lining of the stomach, duodenum, or esophagus. Peptic ulcers...

Pharmacist: A professional who fills prescriptions and, in the case of a compounding pharm...

Phenylketonuria: The inherited inability to metabolize (process) the essential amino acid ...

Polygenic: Pertaining to two or more genes. As opposed to monogenic.

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. Thi...

Pregnant: The state of carrying a developing fetus within the body.

Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or dev...

Rash: Breaking out (eruption) of the skin. A rash can be caused by an underlying medical c...

Regimen: A plan or a regulated course, such as a diet, exercise, or treatment, that is des...

Renal: Having to do with the kidney. For example, renal cancer is cancer of the kidneys.

Rhabdomyolysis: A condition in which skeletal muscle is broken down, releasing muscle enzy...

Saturated fat: A fat that contains only saturated fatty acids, is solid at room temperatur...

Serum: The clear liquid that can be separated from clotted blood. Serum differs from plas...

Sinusitis: Inflammation of the lining membrane in any of the hollow areas (sinuses) of the...

Statins: A class of drugs that lower cholesterol.

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

Stool: The solid matter that is discharged in a bowel movement.

Stroke: The sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, caused by blockage of blood...

Substance: 1. Material with particular features.
2. The material that...

Sumycin: See: Tetracycline.

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

Tetracycline: A family of broad-spectrum antibiotics effective against a remarkably wide v...

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Thyroid: 1. The thyroid gland. Also, pertaining to the thyroid gland. 2. A p...

Tiredness: See: Tired.

Triglycerides: The major form of fat stored by the body. A triglyceride consists of three ...

Ulcer: A lesion that is eroding away the skin or mucous membrane. Ulcers can have various ...

Urine: Liquid waste produced by the kidneys. Urine is a clear, transparent fluid that norm...

Vitamin A: Vitamin A is retinol. Carotene compounds (found, for example, in egg yolk, butt...

Vitamin D: A steroid vitamin which promotes the intestinal absorption and metabolism of ca...

Vitamins: The word "vitamin" was coined in 1911 by the Warsaw-born biochemist Casimir Funk...

Warfarin: An anticoagulant drug (brand names: Coumarin, Panwarfin, Sofarin) taken to prev...

Weight loss: Weight loss is a decrease in body weight resulting from either voluntary (die...