Lipoprotein(a)
Being healthy is not about what you can do in the gym. It’s not about what you can do on the outside. It’s what’s going on in the inside. I really needed to find out what was going on with me, and that’s what this did. It woke me up - Bob Harper
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Lipoprotein “Little A” Can Cause More Than a Little Damage to the Heart
Bernie Sanders is lucky. He needed heart artery stents at the age of 78, but others have had major cardiac issues at younger ages, such as Bob Harper, the fitness guru from The Biggest Loser, who was only 52 when an artery blockage caused him to suffer a heart attack, and he almost died. When it comes to heart disease, you can seem healthy one day and be gone the next. This discrepancy is why doctors and health care professionals work so hard to prevent it: the first warning can often be your last. For those patients who receive preventive cardiac care, many will have some risk factor that their doctor will find and counsel them on how to lower. Even with this precaution, however, 20 percent…
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A Heart Risk Factor Even Doctors Know Little About
“People don’t know about it, physicians don’t know about it, and we have to get an education program out there, but that’s expensive,” said Dr. Henry N. Ginsberg, the Irving Professor of Medicine at Columbia University and a leading expert on lp(a). “I would say that somewhere between 15 to 20 percent of the population would clearly benefit from knowing that this is their problem.”
Measuring cardiovascular disease risk and the importance of apoB
Millions of Americans schedule an annual physical health examination. During their visit, many can expect to get their blood drawn for a standard lipid panel, which ultimately provides the patient with a readout of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TGs). What virtually nobody among them will get is an apolipoprotein B (apoB) test. Yet this is considered the ideal, if not essential, measurement to assess lipoprotein-related atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk
On the Horizon: Treatments for Lipoprotein(a)
It is not surprising that most PCPs don’t know very much about Lp(a). Although Lp(a) is well-researched, there is still a lot to learn about this complex lipoprotein.
How Your Lipoprotein(a) Level Affects Your Risk of Heart Disease
Lp(a) is more related to LDL because it’s an LDL particle that contains apolipoprotein B linked to apo(a). So it’s a subclass of LDL but it’s a more atherogenic form of LDL. That means it’s a type of LDL that is linked to a higher risk of heart disease, much more so than LDL itself. The production of Lp(a) is controlled by a specific gene.
Lipoprotein (a): Five things you should know
You may have heard about Lipoprotein (a), Lp(a) or often referred to as “Lp little a." Lp(a) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The level of Lp(a) found in a person’s blood is entirely genetically predetermined. This means that unlike other cardiac risk factors, Lp(a) can’t be modified by diet or exercise. Your level of Lp(a) is the same at age 5 as at age 45. The only exception is that your level can increase at menopause and in certain disease states such as chronic kidney disease.
Lipoprotein(a) the Insurgent: A New Insight into the Structure, Function, Metabolism, Pathogenicity, and Medications Affecting Lipoprotein(a) Molecule
Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], aka “Lp little a”, was discovered in the 1960s in the lab of the Norwegian physician Kåre Berg. Since then, we have greatly improved our knowledge of lipids and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Lp(a) is an enigmatic class of lipoprotein that is exclusively formed in the liver and comprises two main components, a single copy of apolipoprotein (apo) B-100 (apo-B100) tethered to a single copy of a protein denoted as apolipoprotein(a) apo(a).
A possible culprit in early heart attacks
High blood levels of a fatty particle called lipoprotein(a) may explain some unexpected premature heart attacks.
Is Lp(a) the Best Kept Secret in Heart Disease?
Most people have had their LDL cholesterol measured. Have you ever had your Lp(a) tested? Did you know that statins may actually raise this key risk factor?
Lipoprotein (a), an independent cardiovascular risk marker
Epidemiological and genetic studies have identified elevated levels of lipoprotein (a) ((Lp(a)) as a causal and independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
Lipoprotein (a)—We Know So Much Yet Still Have Much to Learn …
Lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) has been identified as an independent, causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD).1, 2 Lp(a) has a structure similar to low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) in its lipid core composition in addition to a molecule of apolipoprotein B100 (apoB), but also contains a unique glycoprotein—apo(a), with strong structural homology with plasminogen
Lipoprotein(a): Biology and Clinical Importance
Lp(a) was first identified and classified as a “low density lipoprotein variant” over 40 years ago. Similar to low-density lipoprotein (LDL), but containing an additional protein, apo(a), Lp(a) has proven to be pathogenic in nature and involved in the development of coronary heart disease (CHD).
Lipoprotein “Little A” Can Cause More Than a Little Damage to the Heart
People with a family history of early heart disease need to be tested for this inherited cholesterol particle.
10 Things to Know About Lipoprotein(a)
Why can heart attacks strike people who appear to be perfectly healthy? In some cases, the answer is a little-known risk, lipoprotein(a), which is rarely considered until its impact is felt. Here are 10 things to know about this quiet threat.
LP(a) Association
Preventing early heart attacks and strokes by advancing awareness, identification and treatment of Lipoprotein(a)
Lipoproteina Foundation
"To live in a world where high Lipoprotein(a) is routinely, diagnosed, treated and family screened."
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