Lona Chen ,

The American Heart Association’s new dyslipidemia guidance puts lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), on more clinicians’ radar. For many adults, the test is meant to refine heart-risk assessment — not replace a standard cholesterol panel or by itself tell you whether you need treatment. That matters because Lp(a) is usually inherited, often does not cause symptoms, and is not checked on routine cholesterol tests. The new guidance says a one-time measurement may help identify people whose risk is higher than their usual LDL cholesterol result suggests.