Why aren't family doctors testing routinely for Lp(a)?
I recently learned I have reasonably high Lp(a). I've also learned that no matter what I ate, didn't eat, drank, didn't drink, how many miles I ran, how many weights I lifted or what my BMI was, this marker alone increases my risk for heart disease. I also had a CAC performed weeks after the Lp(a) test results and more bad news - high score for my age. 95th percentile. I've had moderately high LDL for what I can look back on is 15+ years. It was not yet in the statin recommended area, but it was over 100. Additionally, ALL my other lab numbers are not only within range but well within optimal range. Was there not a red flag there that my LDL was the rogue biomarker? My doctor finally ran the Lp(a) after I tried desperately to change my diet over the past year, improving my LDL by a miniscule 5 points. I feel like if I had known, and my doctor had known, a decade or more ago about my Lp(a) I could have been recommended a statin much earlier and avoided all the atherosclerosis buildup that is in my heart and vascular system now. I'm angry beyond belief. I feel like an innocent person just condemned to solitary confinement..A medical death sentence. If 20% of the population has elevated Lp(a), and heart disease is the leading cause of death, and the test is a very simple blood test, WHY ON EARTH ISN'T IT A BASIC TEST RUN ON EVERY PATIENT???