This wasn’t mentioned in your articles, so I thought I’d pick your brain on what you know about Lp(a). I had a heart attack in March due to a couple of clogged arteries that got some stents. I had none of the risk factors except for slightly high ldl levels. My cardiologist had my blood tested a couple of times for Lp(a) and my levels were 248 and 282 nmol/L. I’m told there are no successful strategies to address these high levels except for keeping up with my high fiber, low sat fat diet; keep up with my exercise (ST and biking/running), and keep taking my Lipitor. How big a deal are these levels? They are WAY over the reference range that came with the results.
Yes, I did not go over Lp(a) in the article series because I wanted to get the basics across that would help most people.
Sorry to hear about your situation – those are very high levels, indeed. They are thought to be primarily genetically influenced, and you are correct that our ability to modify it is pretty limited at the moment, although PCSK9 inhibitors do have some effect here and are worth discussing with your physician. There are also medications in clinical trials that more specifically target Lp(a), although these aren’t yet widely available.
Ultimately we are left addressing the modifiable risk factors as aggressively as we can, meaning all the lifestyle factors you mention, and attacking ApoB levels as hard as we can as well. If I were in your situation I would be monitoring ApoB levels and considering additional medications (ezetimibe, PCSK9i) to mitigate my risk as much as possible.
Ok. Thank you for the information.
Why would the LP(a) increase 34 points between measurements. I thought Lp(a) level stayed consistent throughout life.
thank you!
While it is heavily influenced by genetics, it is not exclusively determined by genetics. There are certain other factors/conditions that can influence blood levels, as well as natural variation (no blood concentration of anything stays absolutely static over time) and lab-to-lab error that could contribute to this difference.
Got it, thanks!