Question: I was diagnosed with a 99% blockage - right carotid artery and 50% blockage - left carotid artery in 2003 and no surgery is being recommended as I am asymptomatic. I have had two angiograms - last one in 2005 - both were negative with the last one having better results than the first one. I have high blood pressure when I go to the doctor (160/80) - otherwise my bp is normal and is often lower than 120/80/72. I do experience high heart rate though intermittently - 82 to 95 bpm even while at rest and my bp will be 95/65. I was taking Toprol XL-25 mg for 14 years and stopped taking it last year as my heart rate kept going too low. I felt like my heart was skipping a lot of beats and was going to stop. I just had my annual physical and my doctor saw some EKG changes and is wanting me to start taking Atenolol-25 mg, Lisinopril-10mg, and Pravachol-10 mg, and Ecotrin-81mg daily. I do not wish to take all these meds. Is there anything I can do - like more exercise, diet, etc. I was on Lipitor in 2006, even though my cholesterol numbers were good (I think for the carotid artery plaque) and had to be taken off as I was having leg pains. Two weeks after stopping it I awoke at 4 a.m. coughing up blood (I was coughing quite a lot for several months after I started the Lipitor but I was not coughing up blood). I ended up having emergency lung surgery and had a left resection of the upper lobe. So I am really afraid to take another statin drug. My usual cholesterol numbers are 194, triglycerides - 121, HDL Cholesterol-62 and Chol/HDL ratio 3.1.