From Mary Shomon Your Thyroid Guide
Cholesterol Update: Are You At Risk?
July 2002 -- A new cholesterol test can help physicians more accurately measure cholesterol levels and identify up to 90 percent of patients at risk for heart disease.
For the most part, Americans know that high cholesterol is a leading risk factor for heart disease. Many also recognize that their cholesterol numbers should be at or near 200, with more "good" cholesterol (HDL) and less "bad" cholesterol (LDL).
However, people may not know that routine cholesterol tests identify less than half of all patients who are at risk for heart disease. In other words, a patient can receive a "normal" cholesterol reading one day and still suffer a heart attack the next.
The new VAP Cholesterol Test measures HDL, LDL and triglycerides, and then breaks them down further, into what are called cholesterol subclasses-providing new clues about hidden heart disease risk.
Cholesterol Subclasses
Recent research has identified a number of these cholesterol subclasses that can cause heart disease but are not measured with routine cholesterol tests. For example, high levels of Lp(a), known as the "widow maker," can increase a person's risk for heart disease by up to 70 percent.
The VAP Test is easy to take and provides important information about these newly discovered risk factors for heart disease. It costs about the same as the routine cholesterol test and is accepted by most insurance companies, including Medicare. The test also helps physicians comply with new, more stringent government cholesterol guidelines.
Ask Your Doctor
It is important that you take charge of your heart health. Consider asking your physician the following questions about cholesterol and heart disease:
- If I have a family history of heart disease but my routine cholesterol test results are normal, am I really OK? -- Routine cholesterol tests do not check for genetic risk factors such as Lp(a). New expanded cholesterol tests, however, measure these important hereditary factors. This information is critical to those with a family history of heart disease, since routine tests can give patients a false sense of health.
- How often should I have my cholesterol tested? -- Government guidelines recommend that adults over the age of 20 have their cholesterol tested every five years. People who are older or have cholesterol problems may need more frequent testing. Because the VAP Test provides a more complete cholesterol profile at about the same cost as the routine test, many doctors now are using it as the primary cholesterol test in their practices.
Source: NAPS
