with all due respect.... I don't think little reductions in cholesterol do much of anything.

The food grade red yeast rice is vastly different from the red yeast rice of today that targets cholesterol. They are just not the same.

Cyclosporine used in transplants is always problematic. In fact it interacts with St.John's Wort also, which is also an herb. The fact that rhabdo did occur means that certain medical conditions with their drug therapies, do interact with herbal products. Red yeast rice is not so innocuous, it capable of that.
Herbs are mini drugs...and should be treated with that respect.

If you believe that you have to lower your cholesterol to a TARGET, that means you believe what the drug companies have created.
And belief is a strong thing in medicine. Just remember the older you get, the more protective cholesterol is. (not the reverse).

I personally believe that cholesterol rises as we age because we make less sex/steroid hormones that use cholesterol as a precursor. Also the compound in the skin that makes Vit D...is cholesterol based. Lower that and you lower Vit D conversion in the skin.

Cholesterol is really important to the body. Why would a feedback for it exist unless it was very important. If you drastically reduce cholesterol intake, the liver will increase production of it. So you have a set point of sorts built right into you. That is why diet doesn't do much for modifying cholesterol levels.