If you make essential lifestyle changes and your cholesterol level doesn’t improve after three months, you may need to take one of a variety of medications to lower your cholesterol. Your physician will weigh a range of factors to determine whether medication is right for you, and if so, what type. One of these factors is your ASCVD score, which is a calculation of both the 10-year and lifetime risk of heart attack and stroke in people over 40. It’s used to help your physician determine whether a statin drug might benefit you.