News You Can Use: Lipoprotein "Little a" cholesterol
Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston) have have finally uncovered the connection between lipoprotein (a) or "lipoprotein little a (LPa)" as it is commonly referred to, and heart disease. Like C-reactive Protein, LPa has long troubled cardiologists, primary care providers, and researchers because the magnitude of its effect on heart disease could not be measured.
In an article published in the September 20th edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers describe a new testing method that allowed them to analyze blood collected ten years ago from participants in the Women's Health Study. The researchers used frozen blood specimens from nearly 28,00 women who did not have heart disease at the time their blood was drawn, then compared the LPa results to those women's heart disease rates now.
According to their analysis it takes a very high level of LPa to cause heart disease; in fact, their results indicate that LPa levels must be more than two times higher than previously thought to increase heart disease risk. One in ten women will have a LPa level of 65.5 or greater; these women have a 66% higher risk of developing heart disease than women at levels lower than this. One in 100 women have LPa levels that are 130.7 or higher; levels that high double a woman's risk of developing heart disease.
LPa teams up with LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, making it more likely that LDL will become inserted in the walls of arteries, causing the plaque build-up that results in coronary artery disease (CAD). Because of this connection, women with higher blood levels of LDL are at the greatest risk of developing coronary artery disease.
The researchers report that there is still no need for routine testing of LPa levels, because there is still no proof that lowering one's LPa level will actually decrease their heart disease risk. Like the current belief about C-reactive protein levels, it is recommended that testing be done only on those individuals who have been diagnosed with CAD at a young age, and for whom there is no other obvious risk factor for heart disease. Sadly, those individuals are few and far between.
Laurie
Related Topics: 40-Point Cholesterol Drop = 20% Lower Heart Risk, WebMD Video: The Battle of Your Life: Women & Heart Disease
Technorati Tags: LPa, LDL, cholesterol, heart disease
In an article published in the September 20th edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers describe a new testing method that allowed them to analyze blood collected ten years ago from participants in the Women's Health Study. The researchers used frozen blood specimens from nearly 28,00 women who did not have heart disease at the time their blood was drawn, then compared the LPa results to those women's heart disease rates now.
According to their analysis it takes a very high level of LPa to cause heart disease; in fact, their results indicate that LPa levels must be more than two times higher than previously thought to increase heart disease risk. One in ten women will have a LPa level of 65.5 or greater; these women have a 66% higher risk of developing heart disease than women at levels lower than this. One in 100 women have LPa levels that are 130.7 or higher; levels that high double a woman's risk of developing heart disease.
LPa teams up with LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, making it more likely that LDL will become inserted in the walls of arteries, causing the plaque build-up that results in coronary artery disease (CAD). Because of this connection, women with higher blood levels of LDL are at the greatest risk of developing coronary artery disease.
The researchers report that there is still no need for routine testing of LPa levels, because there is still no proof that lowering one's LPa level will actually decrease their heart disease risk. Like the current belief about C-reactive protein levels, it is recommended that testing be done only on those individuals who have been diagnosed with CAD at a young age, and for whom there is no other obvious risk factor for heart disease. Sadly, those individuals are few and far between.
Laurie
Related Topics: 40-Point Cholesterol Drop = 20% Lower Heart Risk, WebMD Video: The Battle of Your Life: Women & Heart Disease
Technorati Tags: LPa, LDL, cholesterol, heart disease
5 Comments:
Are patients with a type B III aortic dissection candidates for cardiac rehab ? There was no surgery involved, just being medically treated. Patient has been recovering for 8 weeks and still doesn't have strength back.
I'm currently taking Pravastatin for cholesterol. It's not quite doing the job for Triglycerides (216). My doctor wants to add Lopid to get the Triglycerides under 200. I've read that this is not a good combination. Is there another combination that would work better?
This question is in reference to cholesterol numbers. I had a workup done for the first time in 15 years, and my HDl came back at 96! I'm a 57 yr old man, and the LDL number was right in range, overall total was a little high because of the HDL number. My question: is it possible to have a risk from HDL being TOO high??
To the woman who needed a better combination of pills to reduce her triglycerides, I only have to ask, why a pill? Have you tried 4-6 hours of exercise per week?
As for the person who couldn't get her cholesterol down enough with pills, have you tried vitamin C--1,000 milligrams, 3 times per day? It's a better "statin" and with no side effects.
Are you eating a lot of candy or drinking alcohol daily? They both are a huge contributor to Triglyceride elevation.
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