Cardiologists, too, are on the fence about who should get screened, and when. McGarrah would like to see a one-time Lp(a) screening when a person gets their first routine cholesterol panel. “Whether it is [age] 18 or 25 or later, it would be good to incorporate an Lp(a) test — usually covered by insurance — to better contextualize their risk of developing cardiovascular disease,” he said. But Paruchuri thinks screening for Lp(a) is better used with patients with borderline risk. “As a patient, having an elevated Lp(a) level but no clear treatment plan could cause significant anxiety and/or increase the use of other cardiac testing unnecessarily,” she said.
The treatments that have been proven not to work but are still being given to patients. Is yours one of them?
Why does medicine keep getting...