Medical Term for Elevated Lipoprotein
The medical term for elevated lipoprotein levels is "Hyperlipoproteinemia." For the specific case of elevated lipoprotein(a), the recommended term is "Hyperlipoproteinemia(a)" or simply "Elevated Lp(a)" 1.
Standardized Nomenclature
The NHLBI Working Group established clear nomenclature recommendations in 2018 to address the lack of standardization that had existed since lipoprotein(a) was first described in 1963 1:
- The lipoprotein itself should be called "Lipoprotein(a)" or "Lp(a)" with no space between lipoprotein and (a)
- Patients with elevated levels should be described as having "Elevated Lp(a)" or "Hyperlipoproteinemia(a)"
Clinical Thresholds
Traditional thresholds for elevated Lp(a) are:
- >30 mg/dL or >75 nmol/L - representing the 75th percentile in white populations and reflecting epidemiological CVD risk thresholds 1
- >50 mg/dL (~100-125 nmol/L) - the European Society of Cardiology/European Atherosclerosis Society threshold for significant risk (>80th percentile) 1
Broader Context of Hyperlipoproteinemia
The term "hyperlipoproteinemia" encompasses various disorders of lipoprotein metabolism 2:
- Hypercholesterolemia - elevated LDL cholesterol
- Hypertriglyceridemia - elevated triglyceride-rich lipoproteins
- Hyperlipoproteinemia(a) - elevated Lp(a)
These can be classified as dietary, primary (genetic), or secondary disorders 2.
Important Clinical Caveat
In the United States, no specific ICD-10 code exists for elevated Lp(a) levels 1. Clinicians must currently use a generic hypercholesterolemia code to document this condition, which limits both clinical documentation and research using electronic health records. This represents a significant gap in the healthcare system's ability to properly track and manage this condition affecting over one billion people globally 1.