Lipid disorders care

Lipid disorders are conditions where the levels of lipids (fats) in the blood are abnormal—think high LDL (low-density lipoprotein, or “bad cholesterol”), low HDL (high-density protein, or “good cholesterol”), and high triglycerides, the fat that stores excess energy from your diet. High cholesterol, meaning high levels of LDL and triglycerides, increases your risk of heart disease, heart attack, or stroke.

Penn Medicine Heart and Vascular Care offers the largest and most well-known program of services for the diagnosis and management of lipid disorders in the southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey regions. As part of our fully integrated approach to heart care and disease prevention, our goal is to reduce your likelihood of cardiovascular events by helping you achieve healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Our lipid disorders care team includes physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, and dietitians who work together and with you to devise practical treatment plans that fit your lifestyle and goals.

Who benefits from lipid management?

Lipid disorders are often due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors: inherited conditions, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, underlying medical conditions like diabetes or liver disease, and side effects of certain medications.

Penn Medicine’s risk reduction model for lipid disorders is beneficial for people who have one or more of the following:

• A family history of coronary artery disease
• Unexplained premature coronary artery disease
• Difficulty following recommended therapies
• Adverse reactions to standard therapy
• Complex lipid disorders such as inherited lipid disease
• Extremely high lipid levels that are resistant to drug therapy
• Complicating factors, such as co-existing medical conditions or therapy that includes two or more liver metabolized drugs

Cholesterol screening, management, and more

Your Penn Medicine lipid disorders care team emphasizes one-on-one relationships with patients and practical treatment plans that fit every lifestyle. We offer:

• Specialized tests to evaluate lipid disorders
• Screening for co-existing risk factors
• In-depth counseling for diet and lifestyle changes
• Education about potential non-prescription therapies
• Expert selection and fine-tuning of lipid-modifying medications
• Access to clinical trials of the newest agents for lipid disorders and prevention of cardiovascular disease
• LDL apheresis, a dialysis-like treatment to eliminate LDL from the bloodstream for patients with very high LDL levels that have not responded to diet and aggressive drug therapy

Penn Medicine’s cardiovascular risk reduction specialists are leaders in the field of preventive cardiovascular medicine, cholesterol metabolism, and atherosclerosis, providing consultation and training for other medical professionals around the world. They’re also internationally known for their research into new advances in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart and vascular conditions, including:

• Novel approaches to boosting HDL levels and function
• Gene therapy to lower LDL levels

As a large medical center, Penn Medicine provides many different heart care services along with the latest diagnostics, advanced tests, and access to clinical trials. If you need complex or additional treatments, we are connected to a wide range of specialists—all within the same system. Working together, our teams are determined to provide you with the best possible care.