Anyone else out there with extremely high lipoprotein (a)?
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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I don't know that anything outside of filtering Lp(a) out of the blood is going to be effective. I did see a study that I thought was actually from Mayo that said that if you got the LDL-C sufficiently low enough that the risk was only slightly higher of issues from high Lp(a). Everyone is different for certain.
I also read on the American Heart Association website that there is no difference in outcome for Lp(a) being high or normal if the blood pressure is at sufficiently low levels without medication, so I will be working on my physical fitness, so I can eventually ditch the blood pressure medication and the risk due to my high Lp(a).
314,
Are you taking a statin? Age?
Mine is pretty bad too. I have started trying to follow the Pauling Protocol. The only thing that the doctors can do is something similar to dialysis called lipid alpheresis. They will first focus on getting your LDL-C levels to optimal levels. My HDLs are worse than yours at around 30. The HDLs will come up with exercise and eating raw onion if you can handle the heartburn from eating half of a raw onion each day. The blood pressure is a critical factor in reducing the risk of Lp(a). I am not a doctor but obsessed with my own situation.
Look at the recipes in The Mastering Diabetes plan. Low fat plant based whole foods.
Glen- You said absolutely no seed oils. Can you explain?
Please! Throw us a bone! I think there are some research studies out there using niacin and vitamin c that show at least mild improvement in lp(a). Of course, ask your Dr. first.
That is definitely my strategy to control what I can and to get plenty of exercise including HIIT and martial arts. I feel so much better after exercise.
So far, I have only had risk factors. My previous Dr.'s PA was trying to be cautious. I wasn't having symptoms.
Seed oils cause an increase in inflammation as does olive oil if it is heated beyond its smoke point which is quite low. If heated past the smoke point, some of the olive oil is converted to transfats. Be aware that some of our bodies convert Omega 6 to Omega 3. For all the bad things that I inherited, I did inherit that from somewhere.