Cholesterol Lipoprotein a – Do you know your levels?


Lipoprotein(a) is a type of cholesterol we all have; however, it’s not a cholesterol routinely monitored by physicians. Typically you receive a standard lipid panel which gives you the following labs:

Total Cholesterol
LDL Cholesterol
HDL Cholesterol
Triglycerides (and maybe VLDL Cholesterol)

If the above labs are within normal, there is usually no reason a physician would order any further tests. For those of you with a strong family history of heart disease, I encourage you to have your physician do routine tests beyond this standard lipid panel. You need to have a comprehensive lipid panel. A comprehensive lipid panel tests you for the following labs:

Total Cholesterol
LDL Cholesterol
HDL Cholesterol
Triglycerides
C-Reactive Protein (measure of inflammation)
Insulin
Homocysteine
VLDL Cholesterol
Remnant Lipoprotein
Dense LDL III
Dense LDL IV
Buoyant HDL 2b
LDL Phenotype/Size
Lipoprotein(a)

The function of Lipoprotein a.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
How to Lower Cholesterol in 8 Simple Steps

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6 Comments

  1. [...] Read a strange post: Cholesterol Lipoprotein a – Do we know your levels? [...]

  2. [...] August 25, 2009, 8:00 am Please take a moment to bookmark this site and don’t forget to subscribe to the Lisa Nelson RSS Feed . I hope you find the information useful. Here’s to your health! Lisa Nelson RDLipoprotein(a) is a type of cholesterol we all have; however, it’s not a cholesterol routinely monitored by physicians. Typically you receive a standard lipid panel which gives you the following labs:Total CholesterolLDL CholesterolHDL CholesterolTriglycerides (and maybe VLDL Cholesterol)If Lower Cholesterol [...]

  3. [...] Testing lipoprotein a Function of lipoprotein a Dangers of elevated lipoprotain a [...]

  4. [...] Expanded lipid profiles are necessary to look at particle size. [...]

  5. [...] If you are considering medication to treat elevated cholesterol levels I encourage you to discuss a comprehensive lipid panel with your physician. This will give you insight into your particle sizes to fully see what is [...]

  6. Luci Rist says:

    Superb post but I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this subject? I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Bless you!

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