Just found out Lpa is extremely high — other risks OK

Your immediate task is to stop worrying, but you're going about that process sensibly by educating yourself so that you can let the worry go. It's not going to help you anyway.

Diagnostics will tell the story. You will, or should be, invited to try an angiogram, or an MRI, or a stress test with CT scan and contrast radio-opaque dye. Maybe all of them, as I was, because they kept finding nothing wrong. They finally sent me to a sleep lab overnight and I was found to have severe sleep apnea. All this because I suddenly developed atrial fibrillation one morning during a run. My numbers weren't good either, but my vessels and heart all look good. When I had the angiography, and this is before any statins and after decades of all them not-great numbers, the surgeon leaned over to me as he was withdrawing the arm-inserted catheter and said, 'Minor deposits, you're good.' Later, I asked my PCP for a Doppler ultrasound of my carotid arteries because my dad, at 88 had just been found to have the same extent of blockage in his left carotid as your brother's cardiac artery. His right carotid was 199% blocked, and the vascular surgeon said she wouldn't dream of trying to bypass that one. My dad is a healthy and disciplined eater, grew most of his own vegetables, mowed his own lawns, was not big on sweets, all his life. But imagine the meaning of those blockages in vessels meant to feed his engineer's brain.

I'm suggesting that the numbers you have are only a snapshot. They represent blood levels, not what is deposited in your blood vessels. You need other tests to determine how much, if any, deposition you need to worry about.

I recently read that stains could increase LPa - not sure of the source.

Just a quick comment on your total cholesterol and HDL.

While not a medical professional, your total cholesterol seems high - 100 is usually a spot we shoot for if we have heart disease - or are concerned about heart disease.

Again, not a medical professional, but there is a limit to how high HDL should be ... it is not clearly delineated, but my sense is 95 is very high - some articles mention 80 as the upper limit before looking for other causative factors.

Yes, I read it too. It increases LPa 10% to 20%

I'll add a bit more from my experience and research: If one is at risk for CVD, then the LDL numbers start to matter a lot. Having LDL under 70 is the goal and under 55 or so if there is coronary vascular disease (CVD). Also, as noted here, HDL is a U-shaped thing: good at certain levels then becomes a risk factor if high (I think over 90 or 95).

Also, for the original poster: when you see the cardio specialist, ask about Lipoprotein A and B testing, as they are additional risk factors to be considered, and those hide in your LDL results unless specifically tested.