SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sometimes the first sign of an elevated level of Lipoprotein (a)is a stroke or heart attack.
Elevated Lipoprotein a or LP(a) is an inherited gene that affects one in five people of all ages. Too much of it can increase your risk for blood clots and create plaque inside of your vessels that send blood and oxygen to the heart and brain.
It's not something doctors typically test for in a standard cholesterol panel but ABC10 Health Expert Dr. Payal Kohli said it's something younger people with a family history of heart disease should talk to their doctor about.
"When you're young, your cholesterol generally tends to be a little bit better controlled and get worse in life, but it can really help us assess people's risk and treat them more aggressively if they have a higher risk," Kohli said. "If you have an elevated level of LP(a) it's really important that you meet with the cardiologist to try to determine how you can treat other factors to reduce your risk because the studies right now do not support necessarily treating LP(a). We have only a few medications that actually lower it. The most commonly used medicine, statins they don't affect LP(a), but we do have a few others that can affect it."
Kohli said if someone older than 40 years old finds out they have high levels of LP(a), she recommends asking your doctor for a calcium score test. It's an x-ray that can show if you already have a blockage in your heart. Knowing where you stand in this can help doctors refine how at-risk you are and how aggressive they may need to treat you.
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