Frequency of lipoprotein(a) measurements in patients with or at risk of cardiovascular disease

Abstract

Knowledge of lipoprotein(a) measurement in community practice is limited. The objective of this study is to evaluate the frequency of Lp(a) screening across the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). Descriptive data were collected for all URMC patients >= 18 years old who have had at least one Lp(a) measurement from January 2011 to August 2022 from the URMC electronic health record (EHR). Cardiovascular diagnoses were queried to define yearly frequency and demographic information. We identified 2,698 patients with at least one Lp(a) result. An increasing number of patients were tested per year. There were more women than men, and about 11% having more than one Lp(a) measured with the majority having a level <30mg/dL (the normal-range in the UMRC lab). The majority do not have a listed diagnosis of cerebral infarction, peripheral vascular disease, myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, or aortic stenosis. Across URMC, there has been a steady increase of Lp(a) measurements in the past several years.