Lipoprotein(a) Levels and Cardiovascular Risk in Women

Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) is an LDL-like particle that independently increases the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (see Figure 1). In this study, researchers evaluated the relation between Lp(a) levels and 30-year cardiovascular disease risk in 27,700 initially healthy female health professionals (median age, 53) enrolled in the Women’s Health Study. All had baseline Lp(a) measurements, and 23,000 participants of European ancestry also were genotyped for the LPA rs3798220 variation, which is associated with higher circulating Lp(a) levels.