After he suffered a sudden mini-stroke several years ago, Glenn Gruman found out he had less-than-perfect cardiovascular health, including high cholesterol levels. The 58-year-old Manhattan, NY, resident knew he needed to get those numbers under control, but the traditional treatment for high cholesterol—statins (lipid-lowering medications)—made his muscles ache.

“I was hoping to find an alternative that would have as good an efficacy as statins, but with minimal to no side effects,” Glenn said. A referral from his doctor led him to the Lipid Center at the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital at North Shore University Hospital, where he met with cardiologist Guy Mintz, MD, director of Cardiovascular Health & Lipidology.

While it’s routine for cardiac patients’ blood to be tested for HDL (“good”) and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, Dr. Mintz, who is a specialist in cholesterol and fats in the blood known as lipids, went further and included a rarely performed test for lipoprotein(a), or lp(a). He explained to Glenn that elevated levels of lp(a) are associated with early heart disease, early stroke and early death.

It turned out that not only did Glenn have dangerously high LDL levels—which is an indication of a genetic disorder that compromises the body’s ability to remove this form of cholesterol naturally—his lp(a) level was twice the normal limit.

With this knowledge, and taking into account other risk factors, such as a history of smoking, Dr. Mintz worked with Glenn to devise an individualized treatment plan that included twice-monthly cholesterol-lowering injectables used in combination with a specific medication that blocks the absorption of cholesterol.

“Dr. Mintz thoroughly explained to me the newest research in genetics about cholesterol,” Glenn said. “The amount of time and care he spent with me was phenomenal.”

Two months later, Glenn’s numbers had an entirely different story to tell. Not only was his LDL number in the normal range, his lp(a) decreased by 50% as well. “Dr. Mintz said he was impressed with the improvement,” he said.

Thanks to this kind of careful intervention, and an individualized approach, Glenn is healthier and understands much more about how to prevent further problems with better diet, exercise and other efforts.

Dr. Mintz is always available for questions, but for now, Glenn won’t need to see him again. He isn’t worried about that because he knows one of the goals of his treatment was to only see Dr. Mintz for the short term. “I knew I was in the best hands,” he said.