Lipoprotein(a) Foundation: Did You Know That 63 Million Americans Have a High Risk of Inherited Cardiovascular Disease and May Not Know It?

WHAT:

Lipoprotein(a), also known as Lp(a), is currently the strongest
monogenetic risk factor for coronary heart disease and aortic
stenosis.² Unfortunately, for some
people, the first sign of disease is a heart attack or stroke.

• It is estimated that 1 in 5 people globally have inherited high
Lp(a): 63million in the U.S.⁴

• If an adult has high Lp(a), there is at least a 50% chance of
their children inheriting it.

• Poor lifestyle habits do not contribute to high Lipoprotein(a).
Diet and exercise has little to no impact on lowering Lp(a).

• In the 2013 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Treatment of Blood
Cholesterol to Reduce Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk in
Adults, elevated levels of Lp(a) are associated with an increased
risk for a premature cardiovascular event. In 2010, the European
Atherosclerosis Society recommended screening for elevated Lp(a)
as a priority for reducing cardiovascular risk.

WHY:

Up to 120,000 Lp(a) Related Cardiovascular Events Go Undetected
Each Year¹; Simple Blood Test Could be
First Step in Preventing

• Lp(a) concentrations can be measured by a simple blood test, but
it is not included in most standard lipid panel tests that check
cholesterol levels. ¹

• A study recently published in JACC shows that the current
cholesterol guidelines miss 8% of people who have a cardiovascular
event whose only risk factor is high Lp(a).¹

• When you consider 1.5 million cardiovascular events each year in
the U.S. ⁵, that equals 120,000 potentially preventable
events with proactive screening for Lp(a)¹.

What Can People Do if They Have a Family History of
Cardiovascular Disease?

• Use the Family
Tree Sheet to map out your family history of
cardiovascular disease.

• Talk to your doctor about Lp(a) testing to get an accurate risk
assessment and lower controllable risk factors until there is a
therapy for high Lp(a).

• Support patient advocacy to find a therapy and advocate for more
research for high Lp(a) at www.lipoproteinafoundation.org

WHO:

The following cardiovascular event survivors and cardiovascular
disease experts are available to discuss hereditary risks of
cardiovascular disease associated with Lp(a):

• Sandra Revill Tremulis, Calif-based survivor and founder of
Lipoprotein(a) Foundation

• Lp(a) Foundation Patient Advocates / Survivors in Cities around
the Nation

• Sotirios (Sam) Tsimikas, MD, Director, Vascular Medicine,
University of California San Diego; Deputy Editor of the Journal
of the American College of Cardiology and Associate Editor of JACC
Cardiovascular Interventions

• Amit Khera, MD, MSc, Director of the Preventive Cardiology
Section, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

3 Thanassoulis G. et al. Genetic Associations with Valvular
calcification and aortic stenosis. N Engl J Med. 2013 Feb
7;368(6):503-12. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1109034

4 Nordestgaard F., Chapman J, et al. Lipoprotein(a) as a
cardiovascular risk factor current status. European Heart J.
2010;31,2844-2853

5 CDC reference: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6321a3.htm