My family, dad, brother, sister, all had very early cardiac disease. Why? Likely they had elevated Lipoprotein(a). That’s genetic. It was passed on to me and I passed it on. When I returned to my cardiologist after many years and with this new knowledge about Lp(a), he chose to treat me aggressively with a statin as if I already had cardiac disease as well as diabetes, which I did not. Such individuals, according to the latest guidelines of the American Diabetes Association, should achieve an LDL below 55. My cardiologist said he had two statin choices for me: Atorvastatin and Crestor (Rosuvastatin).
After 8 weeks on 20 mg. of Crestor my LDL was comfortably below 55, more in keeping with the LDL of newborns. My take away is that main stream medicine is still in the dark ages in their practice of under treating LDL. An LDL under 100 ( current guidelines) for those who have not had a heart attack, stroke, or calcification of their aortic valve is just “not” good enough.
I will add that heart disease kills more people in the U.S. than all cancers combined. By the way, years ago, very high LDL numbers were considered acceptable.
Primary care doctors need to catch up with today’s reality.
Hope this opinion is helpful. Hope more readers explore statins. Please be reminded that elevated lipoprotein(a) alone will not budge with improved lifestyle (diet, exercise).
For now, the best way to address that risk factor: elevated Lp( a) is to reduce LDL aggressively. Consider LDL a poison.
In the U.S., only .3 percent of people are tested for Lp(a), while 20% of people have elevated numbers. Think about that.
Best to all!
LeafLeaf
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I think the physiology on cardiac vascular disease is a bit more nuanced than just LDL. I am not a scientist or healthcare professional, but I am guessing that there are many complex factors and interactions that eventually lead to CVD and consequently HA and strokes. Not an expert, but maybe someone on here can shed more light on this. I am an identical twin and very similar to my brother in terms of lifestyle and both non-smoking. Yet, I have CVD and he has no blockages with similar lipid profile/BP/etc.
Yes - it is complex and the environment that we operate in plays a role too.
The epidemic levels we are seeing of heart disease, obesity and diabetes (all related chronic illnesses) is a modern phenomenon. We don't all of a sudden all have bad genetics. I also don't accept that LDL is a poison. If there was medication to reduce LDL levels to zero you would die very quickly.
Genetics will often determine our level of tolerance to unhealthy lifestyles, and for many many people, seeing your genetics as a curse is a sleight of hand used to create a lifelong medication dependency.
I have and probably inherited a high Lp(a) which in turn probably contributed to an aortic ulcer which in turn contributed my aortic dissection, (which I only just survived.) Only after my AD and with concern about rising cholesterol readings after stopping statin (because of concerns over leg weakness) did my Clinical Biochemistry Consultant test my Lp(a) to find it was 205 (forget whether mg or mmole, but basically, very high indeed). The stats you give about only 0.3% tested aren't good enough. I expect much the same is true here in the UK. Considering it's a once-in-a-lifetime measurement (because it can't be modified) it should, in my view, be done for every person who is being tested for cholesterol, at their first set of bloods.
Whilst the accepted view is that there is no treatment for high Lp(a), I did find one paper which was actually based on NAC being able to reduce Lp(a) significantly. Most papers say there's no effect, but NAC degrades easily so the dosage and condition of NAC in those trials is not clear.
I have lost two sibling to heart disease. I only found out about Lipoprotein little a and got tested after my cabgx2 Aug 28.. My result was 79 which puts me at significant risk but can be controlled by diet and excercise.
I follow a low sugar diet, no Cereal, pasta, rice, very little bread only sourdough once a week.
My latest triglycerides were 0.5mmol/l.
I take apple cider vinegar and excercise a lot.
My latest CT showed no plaque build up on my bypass vessels.
Hi there, I’m in the UK and most of my family have early heart disease and we’re all on statins. My identical twin was told quite recently she did not have CVD but then she had a heart attack last week (thankfully she’s ok). The cardiologist is interested in the genetic mutation our family has because in the UK you can be prescribed a new and injectable statin. As it’s so expensive, you can only be prescribed if it can be proven that your high cholesterol is genetic.
The Repatha shot you would give yourself (every 2 weeks, I believe) works as a statin and also reduces Lp(a). It is prescribed in the U.S. when individuals cannot tolerate statins. Two friends have had it prescribed for that very reason.
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