Testing for elevated lipoprotein(a) should be considered in all patients with premature cardiovascular disease and familial hypercholesterolaemia, according to the Australian Atherosclerosis Society.

It also called for new MBS items to fund the tests and for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk calculators to be updated to include lipoprotein(a) — or Lp(a) — as a predictor variable.

In a position statement released last month, the group of cardiologists and researchers said there was a growing body of evidence that elevated Lp(a) was an independent and causative risk factor for major heart disease.

“Most major international guidelines now recognise Lp(a) as a risk enhancer, particularly in the presence of other conventional ASCVD risk factors,” they wrote in Heart, Lung and Circulation.