1. < Heart & Blood Health

Anyone else out there with extremely high lipoprotein (a)?

Posted by csage1010 (Sue) @csage1010, Feb 21, 2022

Hi! I just found out that I have an extremely high lipoprotein (a) of 515 nmol/L. I'm terrified; it's that high. I'm 58 years old and my total cholesterol is 212. My LDL is 141, and my HDL is just 40. My cholesterol/HDL ratio is 5.3. Of course it's a long weekend and I may not be able to reach my doctor tomorrow. I have watched a couple of informational sessions online from various doctors discussing elevated LP(a), but no one mentions anything close to how high mine is. Is there anyone else out there with severely elevated Lp(a)? Thanking you in advance. Sue M.

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tauceti | @tauceti | Jan 26 1:59pm
In reply to @whineboy "I don’t believe statins can do anything to reduce Lp(a); given your low HDL, you also..." + (show)
@whineboy

I don’t believe statins can do anything to reduce Lp(a); given your low HDL, you also might want to make lifesyle changes. I shifted to a low-carb healthy fat diet 3 years ago, my Lp(a) dropped from 92 to 66. Took a year.
Lifestyle changes can improve a range of things, including blood lipid profiles, blood sugar, and weight. I lost 50 lbs. and no longer am prediabetic.
Good luck!

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Hello @whineboy, My doctor told me that Lp(a) is genetic and can't be reduced with any diet, lifestyle etc. Further, there are no approved medications yet to reduce it. It looks like you have a different real life experience. I've got a high Lp(a), you gave me hope that it can be reduced.

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1 reply
whineboy | @whineboy | Jan 26 3:46pm
In reply to @tauceti "Hello @whineboy, My doctor told me that Lp(a) is genetic and can't be reduced with any..." + (show)
@tauceti

Hello @whineboy, My doctor told me that Lp(a) is genetic and can't be reduced with any diet, lifestyle etc. Further, there are no approved medications yet to reduce it. It looks like you have a different real life experience. I've got a high Lp(a), you gave me hope that it can be reduced.

Jump to this post

@ tauceti - thank you for your kind words, I am flattered to be an inspiration.

Since my original post (Lp(a) at 66 nmol/L), I’ve had two more tests, my Lp(a) continues to decrease, most recently, 52. So, for me, the low-carb program has been beneficial.

One thing to point out - my levels were never near the very high levels some folks on this thread have mentioned. Not sure if my changes would help them.

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kjss | @kjss | Feb 3 10:12am

I just found this group and think it's very informative....I'm a 53 year old woman who was recently diagnosed with high lipo protein a (over 600), plus high triglyderides (224), HDL of 71 and LDL of 135. Until last summer, I'd never even heard of lipo protein A and wonder why it's not tested for and discussed more, since it sounds relatively common?

Regardless, what's even scarier to me is that we found out last summer that my 19 year old daughter also has high LPA and LDL levels...and she's a super fit Division 1 collegiate athlete who eats a pretty clean diet (lots of veggies and low fat protein). She's already on a statin, and has to have echos every five years. I guess it's good that we know and hopefully can do something about it, but it's terrifying to me. We also lost my mom at age 58 due to complications of a heart attack, and her father died at age 48 of his third heart attack, so we clearly know where it comes from.

My cardiologist hasn't given me any dietary guidelines as yet so I'm finding your comments interesting. I haven't gotten to read everyone's comments yet but it sounds like either low carb or vegan are the two best options. Wish me luck! And the same to you.
kjss

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2 replies
meryl59 | @meryl59 | Feb 3 4:42pm

Hang in there , listen to your body and find some good drs and keep appointments
I got symptoms of HOCM at 52
Never had a clue but thankfully my cardio looked deeper after failing a stress test and ordered pacemaker/ defib.
Best of health

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rosie66 | @rosie66 | Feb 23 1:28am

This is an older blog, I hope the initiator found some solutions for high lipoprotein(a) - I wondered because I just found out my test results were also very high - 581, and I am a bit anxious on what that really means. What could help. Seems like some things maybe work, but actually they do not.

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rosie66 | @rosie66 | Feb 23 1:37am

@csage1010csage1010 , Hi. I really don't know how to blog on a website, I hope this is working. You had said in a blog about 2 years ago now that you have really high numbers like I do. I have 581. I am really wondering how you are doing in these last 2 years, what you have found out about the situation.
Thank you, rosie66

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dode | @dode | Feb 24 4:23pm
In reply to @kjss "I just found this group and think it's very informative....I'm a 53 year old woman who..." + (show)
@kjss

I just found this group and think it's very informative....I'm a 53 year old woman who was recently diagnosed with high lipo protein a (over 600), plus high triglyderides (224), HDL of 71 and LDL of 135. Until last summer, I'd never even heard of lipo protein A and wonder why it's not tested for and discussed more, since it sounds relatively common?

Regardless, what's even scarier to me is that we found out last summer that my 19 year old daughter also has high LPA and LDL levels...and she's a super fit Division 1 collegiate athlete who eats a pretty clean diet (lots of veggies and low fat protein). She's already on a statin, and has to have echos every five years. I guess it's good that we know and hopefully can do something about it, but it's terrifying to me. We also lost my mom at age 58 due to complications of a heart attack, and her father died at age 48 of his third heart attack, so we clearly know where it comes from.

My cardiologist hasn't given me any dietary guidelines as yet so I'm finding your comments interesting. I haven't gotten to read everyone's comments yet but it sounds like either low carb or vegan are the two best options. Wish me luck! And the same to you.
kjss

Jump to this post

Here is what I try to live by. I called it the three S’s. Salt, sugar and saturates. Limit all three. By sugars I mean added sugars - sugars in fruits and veggies are fine.

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rosie66 | @rosie66 | Mar 1 2:04am

Hi. My test number was 581.4 on 03/2024. Like yours a shock. I am 75. Like you were a few years ago, trying to figure it out. I hope that you will respond since you have been figuring out - now a few years. Thank You sdix.

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