High cholesterol or hypercholesterolemia is a condition in which the level of cholesterol in the blood is higher than normal thus increasing your risk of heart disease and stroke. If changes in diet and exercise don’t work to bring blood cholesterol levels into a lower range, doctors will commonly prescribe prescription medication.
  Prescription drugs used to treat high cholesterol include bile acid resins and statins. Bile acid resins include cholestyramine (Questran), colesevelam (WelChol) and colestipol (Colestid). These prescription meds work by absorbing blood cholesterol so the body can get rid of it. Bile-acid resins can often reduce levels of LDL cholesterol or "bad cholesterol" by 15 to 25 percent.
  Examples of statins are lovastatin (Mevacor), simvastatin (Zocor), pravastatin (Pravachol), fluvastatin (Lescol) and atorvastatin (Lipitor). These medications work by lowering the amount of cholesterol produced by the body. Statins may lower LDL cholesterol levels by 25 to 65 percent.