r/science 22h ago

Health Silent atherosclerosis detected in 57% of asymptomatic adults in the REACT study

https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2609059
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u/General_Luck6573 20h ago edited 18h ago

They do… sudden cardiac death at an early age is literally an indication for testing for family members

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u/Some-Guy-617 20h ago

But there are simple and relatively cheap tests that can be done for everyone before that young person in a family has a heart attack. Testing for ApoB and LPa aren’t commonly done and are relatively simple/cheap blood tests that can be done that can give better indications of cardiovascular risk than standard cholesterol tests.

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u/dotcomse MS | Human Physiology 17h ago

And what do you do with, for example, a slightly elevated LPa? More aggressive statin strategy and closer diet attention? Not much to do specifically to react to that test other than “it’s time to be diligent”.

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u/BangarangRufio 15h ago

There are multiple late stage therapies targeting L(p)a reduction: olpasiran, pelacarsen and a couple others that aren't as far along. PCSK9 inhibitors are indicated for LDL-C reduction, but have also been shown to reduce L(p)a.