I have a family history of heart attacks. My total cholesterol has always been below 5.0 mmol/L. I suffered a heart attack 5 years ago. Fortunately my specialist consultant diagnosed, that using statins alone, I still had a high Lipoprotein (a) count .60 g/L (the marker level is <.30 g/L). Lipoprotein (a) is a very sticky fat which just clogs the arteries. Niacin in combination with a low dose statin, firstly using Niaspan reduced my Lipoprotein (a) down to .28 g/L and then using Tredaptive down to just .18g/L.
Niaspan and Tredaptive have no doubt saved my life, but both have now been withdrawn.
I have now been prescribed Acipimox, which is not as effective- Lipoprotein (a) is .45 g/L
Are there any other alternative drugs available
Written by
derekbrown
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Had a look at the link, the information is medical and technical, had difficulty to follow. Learned something new today, have to read again to fully understand.
At what point did you go for this type of blood test?
Did your GP refer you for these testes?
Am learning from your experience. At the moment I am on simple blood test for total cholesterol. Thanks.
No my doctor did not even understand these tests. When I asked him about getting an LDL particle size test for example he did not know what it was. I have had to find out for myself what the latest research is saying. In a nutshell Linus Pauling is an advocate of Vitamin C deficiency being the root cause of heart disease. There is also a theory that Vit C reduces LP(a). My LP(a) was very good at 0.18 but then I went away for 3 months and did not supplement. On my return it had spiked to 0.36 (above the 0.3 recommended). I went back on 1,000 mg vit C from good old Boots the chemist and my LP(a) returned to 0.23. I would suggest you supp with Vit C but check your LP(a) levels before and after a reasonable period to see if it actually has an effect.
Solgar 500mg had no effect at all on my lipoprotein (a). Are you sure it is effective on you. There are 3 different types of niacin available and some are not effective. Does anybody know of a true niacin(nicotinic acid) ( aka the old Niaspan now withdrawn)
yes iam sure it works go and do your research how do you know it doesnt touch the lpa ? ive had my bloods done all my family use it go and read the book on niacin b3 ive had the heart attack and the triple by pass op my own heart and lipid consultants agree it works good luck
Thanks for the info. I am glad it works for you but it doesn't for me. 1000mg Solgar daily had no effect on my LP(a), still the same 50% higher than should be.
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HDL and LDL fine :) Lp(a) very high :(
To statin, or not to statin...creatine kinase and lp/a levels normal
Advice regarding recent bloods please
Finally got LDL down below 70 mg/DL ( 1.8 mmol/L) 
