Hilary McClure wrote:
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cooley, Brad" 
> <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 11:41 AM
> Subject: Re: Numbers just in
> 
> 
> 
>> The LDL is likely the protective kind, but he might want to consider a 
>> LDL
>> particle size test (pattern a vs b) to confirm.
> 
> Thanks for the reply, Brad. Do you know who does LDL particle size? In 
> the whole USA, is it still only the Berkeley Heart Lab? You'd think more 
> labs would be able to do it these days since that knowledge is out there 
> in the public sphere. I seem to know more about it than my doctors!
> 
> Hilary

It's called a VAP test.  I would expect that most major labs would do it 
now.  LabCorp has done it for more than 5 years.

I asked my doctor 5 years ago to preform the test after I had a heart 
attack in my 40s, and he asserted it was "research" only and wouldn't 
order it.  I ordered it myself from an online site and found that I had 
small particle LDL, very small.  It explains the heart attack at a young 
age.  I was able to add Niacin, which I started at 500 mg/day and 
incremented an additional 500 mg after each VAP test to see what the 
results were.  I ended up with 2500 mg/day of Niacin to get my LDL 
particle size to the type "A" variant peak.

The very first VAP test I took came back with a graph with particle 
count on y axis and particle size on the x axis.  The peak point is now 
the only point identified on VAP tests.  Some people have multiple peaks 
which will not be noted anymore.  A high peak is worse than a low peak, 
but again this information is no longer available on the standard VAP 
test.  They show a linear line with type B to the left (small particle), 
type A to the right (large fluffy particles - LDL), and a range in the 
middle (type A/B).

There is also a particle count test which I've never had run.

-- 

Steve - [log in to unmask]

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