AHA Scientific Sessions 2025 - Dr Michelle O'Donoghue (Brigham and Women's Hospital, US) joins us to discuss the evolving understanding of the causal relationship between elevated lipoprotein(a) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and what this means for risk stratification and management strategies in clinical practice.

Dr O'Donoghue begins by highlighting the importance for clinicians to check lipoprotein(a) at least once in patients' lifetimes and what they can do with these results. She then discusses a key insight from the European guidelines for dyslipdemia and shares her excitement over the new therapies being developed which work through RNA interference.

Interview Questions:

1. Can you summarize the current evidence establishing the causal link between elevated Lp(a) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease?
2. How should clinicians approach Lp(a) screening and risk stratification?
3. When managing patients with both elevated Lp(a) and established ASCVD, how do you approach risk reduction beyond traditional lipid management?
4. What are the current gaps in our therapeutic armamentarium for addressing elevated Lp(a), and how do you counsel patients about emerging treatments?
5. What are your key take-home messages for clinicians encountering patients with elevated Lp(a) in their practice today?

Visit our AHA 2025 Late-Breaking and Featured Science Collection page for more coverage.

Recorded on-site at AHA Scientific Sessions 2025, New Orleans.

Editor: Jordan Rance.
Videographer: Mike Knight, Dan Brent, David Ben-Harosh.

Support: This is an independent interview produced by Radcliffe Cardiology.