Cardiovascular diseases impose a major threat to public health in the developing world. Bangladesh, in the midst of an epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases, is witnessing a rising prominence of Lp(a). While higher Lp(a) is widely identified as a substantial threat for coronary artery disease (CAD), it is not regularly assessed in clinical practice. An investigation of higher Lp(a) levels in persons with LDL-C can aid in identifying the risk of cardiovascular disease.  People at high risk for CAD may be identified through evaluation for increased Lp(a) when coupled with LDL-C. This study addresses the interrelation between higher levels of Lp(a) and the risk of CAD at a variety of LDL-C levels. The study was conducted at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital in Faridpur, Bangladesh which included 100 patients who were classified into low-Lp(a) and high-Lp(a) catagories. These groups have been compared with the frequency of MACE and ACE. One of the key findings demonstrate that ACE and MACE were higher in the high-Lp(a), particularly when LDL-C was 1.4 mmol/L or higher, according to subgroup analysis that further subdivided patients based on LDL-C levels. Nevertheless, the relation ceased to exist if LDL-C were below 1.4 mmol/L. In short, the results establish Lp(a) as a viable noninvasive screening method for predicting CAD and prompt the development of Lp(a)-reducing therapies as an emerging concern.

Keywords

Lipoprotein(a) elevations, CAD, coronary strokes, cardiovascular disease and epidemiological transition.