Patient Profile:  Bobbi Rowenczak

As a mother of two teenage boys, wife, and part-time clinical lab coordinator, 48-year-old Bobbi Rowenczak leads a busy life. Nevertheless, she has always taken good care of herself – her blood pressure is normal, she doesn't smoke, exercises regularly, and follows a healthy diet. In fact, at 5 feet 4 inches and 112 pounds, her doctors have always described her as the "picture of health."

Rowenczak's cholesterol tests have always come back "normal," too. "My routine cholesterol test results even came back on the low side," she said. "I had lots of good cholesterol and low levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides. There was never any sign of trouble."

However, because her father was diagnosed with heart disease in his 40s, Rowenczak's physician decided to screen her with an innovative new cholesterol test that uncovers hidden risks for heart disease. Developed by Birmingham-based Atherotech, the VAP (Vertical Auto Profile) Test is the emerging standard of care in cholesterol measurement. The VAP Test identifies up to 90 percent of people at risk for heart disease, compared with 50 percent with the traditional cholesterol test. It also improves identification of hereditary risk factors that are not identified with routine cholesterol tests.

Confident that the VAP Test would not show anything she didn't already know about her health, Rowenczak took the test, which requires only five drops of blood obtained via a blood draw. The results, however, were surprising to both Rowenczak and her physician.

The VAP Test showed that Rowenczak had a condition known as the "widow maker," or elevated lipoprotein(a). In fact, her Lp(a) level was twice the normal range. This hereditary condition accounts for up to 70 percent of premature heart disease. There also is a 50 percent chance that the offspring of an individual with elevated Lp(a) will have a cholesterol disorder and be at risk for heart disease.

Rowenczak was shocked to find that she had this condition, which was not detected by her previous cholesterol tests. "I expected that just like all the other tests I've had, this one would come back normal, too," she said. "My physician explained that this is a very serious condition and that he would aggressively treat it."

Since traditional cholesterol-lowering therapies are ineffective at treating elevated Lp(a), Rowenczak's physician recommended she take several dietary supplements, including a twice-daily dose of 500 milligrams of N-acetylcysteine, a nutrient found to lower Lp(a) by as much as 70 percent.

According to Rowenczak, taking the VAP Test has dramatically changed her life. "Now I realize that what I didn't know about my cholesterol could have hurt me," she said. "The VAP Test opened my eyes about cholesterol and risks for heart disease. And when my children get older, I will encourage them to have this test done, too. Since we can treat this condition with simple lifestyle modifications, it's important not to ignore it."

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