Elevated Lp(a) levels - does Repatha help?

I have been on Repatha for several years, and it has reduced my numbers significantly. However, my triglycerides are still a little elevated. I would recommend Repatha over any other type of statin. I do not have a side effects from Repatha.

I have extremely elevated Lp(a) at 589nmol/L. With Repatha onboard, it went down to 369nmol/L-not normal, but better than being in the 99th percentile. of course, I am also on a statin and ezetimibe! No side effects from repatha-some myalgia with statin if I have a glass or two of wine, substantiated by above normal CK

@mariereine Glad to hear it went down significantly, and didn’t give you side effects. Praying for the appproval of the meds in third phase trials that can lower lp(a) so much more. Hopefully we will have something by 2027!

@ginabratt Happy that you have no side effects. My value is 379.7 nmol/L and I had a low moderate stroke in January that luckily did not leave me with permanent motor impairment. They put me on the highest dose of Atorvastatin-80 mg. Now they want to put me on Repatha. Praying for those new drugs as I am also facing Bronchiectasis and NTM disease that require heavy-duty antibiotics for a very long period. Trying to keep my head up!

@paxmundi
I think we are all waiting but it may be more in 2028-Pelacarsen will likely be the first one to go to market if approved by the FDA

@mariereine I don't know if I will make it, but glad to know it's on its way for whoever needs it!

@paxmundi I hope you do- mitigating all the other risk factors (Mediterranean diet, regular and daily exercise, statin, Zedia, and Repatha) will give you all the chances. Although elevated Lp(a) is not a welcome gift, I have read of people with less than half my level who have had a major cardiac event so there is more to this. Now measuring Apo B has been recently added. There is much that is not known and I include the role of genetics in there.

@mariereine Thanks for your insights and I had assumed that genetics was the key driver in elevated lp(a).

@paxmundi Yes Lp(a) is mostly genetically driven and one's level stabilizes by the age of 5. The American academy of paediatrics recommends that all children be tested before the age of 17.
As there are no specific treatment for Lp(a), mitigating all the other risk factors is about the only thing one can do(and perhaps add Repatha which is under-utilized as it can reduce Lp(a) by as much as 30% so it is worth considering, in my humble opinion). Unfortunately, less than 2% of the population is tested for Lp(a) so there is a lot of work to be done in terms of education, raising awareness etc. In Europe, this test is commonly done and why in North America it is not, I do not know, although they do test for it once one has had an event! There remains a lot of questions to be answered regarding Lp(a) in that does lowering it reduces events or? Now with Apo B in the mix it adds a lot more questions. At the end of the day, one can only do what one is aware of and what is available!

@hsminc thank you for your comments. I am a terrible patient do not like taking medication. Hearing positive results for some is helpful, its good to hear your husband is responding well to the medication. thanks again!