Heart health
Normal Lp(a) Levels: The nmol/L Thresholds Explained
Reviewed by a qualified clinician · analysed at UKAS-accredited UK labs (ISO 15189)
Last reviewed September 20265 min read
Every Helvy guide is written by our health editors, then checked by a qualified clinician before it goes live and re-checked as the science moves. We name clinical roles, not individuals, until each reviewer has agreed to be credited publicly. This is wellness guidance to help you understand your own data, not a diagnosis.
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HEART UK reads Lp(a) in nmol/L, not mg/dL. It puts 32 to 90 nmol/L at minor risk, 90 to 200 at moderate, 200 to 400 at high, and above 400 at very high. Your level is set almost entirely by your genes, so it barely moves through life.
Not sure which markers you need? Build your test →You have a number for something your GP has never mentioned. Nobody printed a range next to it. And a quick search hands you three different units and four different answers.
Lipoprotein(a), written Lp(a), is a cholesterol-carrying particle you inherit. Here is the UK reading of it, in the units UK specialists actually use.
1. What is a normal Lp(a) level in the UK?
There is no single normal. There are risk bands. HEART UK sets four of them, and it asks for the result in nmol/L.
| Result | How it reads |
|---|---|
| Under 32 nmol/L | Below the lowest risk band. |
| 32 to 90 nmol/L | Minor risk. |
| 90 to 200 nmol/L | Moderate risk. |
| 200 to 400 nmol/L | High risk. |
| Above 400 nmol/L | Very high risk. |
Two things are worth noticing. The bands describe cardiovascular risk, not a disease. And they are the same at every adult age. HEART UK is explicit that Lp(a) levels are not affected by your age or sex, so no age chart applies here.
A raised level is common. The European Atherosclerosis Society consensus statement puts the number affected worldwide at roughly 1.4 billion people.
2. Why the units on your report change the answer
This is the single most common way an Lp(a) result gets misread. Labs report it in three different units. Two of them count mass, and one counts particles.
- nmol/L counts Lp(a) particles. This is what the HEART UK bands above are built on.
- mg/dL weighs the particles instead. Roughly 100 mg/dL lands near 250 nmol/L.
- mg/L is the same weight, shifted by a factor of ten. A reading of 300 mg/L is 30 mg/dL.
So a result of 90 means moderate risk in nmol/L. In mg/dL it would be extreme. HEART UK compares reading it without the unit to reading your weight without knowing whether it is pounds or kilograms.
Check the unit printed on your own report before you compare your number to anything online. Most US sources use mg/dL. Most UK specialists now use nmol/L.
3. Why your Lp(a) barely moves
Because you inherited it. Lp(a) is a particle much like LDL cholesterol, the one often called bad cholesterol, with an extra sticky protein attached. How much of it your liver makes is written into your genes.
“Because Lp(a) levels are mainly determined by your genes, they do not change throughout your lifetime. They are usually unaffected by your diet, lifestyle or environment.”
— HEART UK, High lipoprotein(a)
That has a practical payoff. Most people need this measured once, not every year. It is the one number on a heart panel that does not reward retesting.
A few things do shift it. Chronic kidney disease, nephrotic kidney disease and an underactive thyroid can all raise it. So can the menopause transition. Those are worth ruling out before you treat a single high reading as fixed.
4. What a raised Lp(a) result means
It means one of your risk factors is fixed, so the others matter more. There is no widely available UK medicine that lowers Lp(a) itself yet. HEART UK is direct about what to do instead.
The answer is to get the movable numbers as low as they sensibly go. Non-HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol are the national targets, and both respond to diet, exercise and medication. Our guide to the cholesterol blood test covers what those numbers are and where they should sit.
Family matters too. Because the level is inherited, a high result in you raises the question for your parents, siblings and children. HEART UK suggests testing first-degree relatives of anyone above 200 nmol/L.
Take a raised result to a GP rather than to a supplement shelf. In the UK, Lp(a) is usually handled by a specialist lipid clinic, and a GP can refer you or request advice on your behalf. More on the whole picture in our heart health hub.
5. Which blood test reports your Lp(a)
HEART UK notes that Lp(a) is not routinely measured in general practice when you have a cholesterol test. A standard NHS lipid panel will not include it. That is why most people have never seen the number. Our Lp(a) blood test guide covers who benefits from having it done.
Helvy's Advanced Heart Health panel (£159) reports Lp(a) in nmol/L alongside ApoB, total, LDL, HDL and non-HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, hs-CRP and HbA1c. The grouping is the point. Lp(a) on its own tells you little about what you can change.
You do not need to fast for Lp(a) itself. If you want the triglyceride and LDL readings at their most accurate, a 9 to 12 hour overnight fast helps those.
One honest limit. Blood markers describe cardiovascular risk. No blood test can see plaque inside an artery, so a low Lp(a) is a better risk picture, not an all-clear. To pick your own markers, the build-my-test tool walks you through it.
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See the number your cholesterol test never showed you
Helvy's home blood tests report Lp(a) in nmol/L with plain-English context, next to the cholesterol markers you can actually move. Samples are processed by UKAS-accredited UK labs.
Frequently asked questions
What is a normal Lp(a) level in nmol/L?
HEART UK sets four risk bands rather than one normal range: 32 to 90 nmol/L is minor risk, 90 to 200 is moderate, 200 to 400 is high, and above 400 is very high. The same bands apply at every adult age and to both sexes.
Is an Lp(a) of 100 nmol/L high?
It sits in the moderate risk band, just above the 90 nmol/L line. That is a reason to get your non-HDL and LDL cholesterol as low as they sensibly go, and a reason to mention it to your GP. It is not a diagnosis of anything.
Can you lower Lp(a) with diet or exercise?
HEART UK states that Lp(a) levels are usually unaffected by your diet, lifestyle or environment, because they are mainly determined by your genes. Diet and exercise still matter a great deal, but they work on your other risk factors rather than on this one.
How often should Lp(a) be measured?
Usually once. HEART UK notes that because levels do not change through your lifetime, most people will not need it checked again. Kidney disease, an underactive thyroid and the menopause transition can shift it, so a clinician may repeat it in those situations.
Does the NHS test Lp(a)?
Not as part of a routine cholesterol check. HEART UK says Lp(a) is not routinely measured in general practice, and that in the UK it is measured by a specialist lipid clinic. A GP can refer you or request advice and guidance on your behalf.
How do you convert Lp(a) from mg/dL to nmol/L?
There is no exact factor, because one weighs the particles and the other counts them. As a rough guide, 100 mg/dL lands near 250 nmol/L. Read your result against the range printed in the same unit on your own report.
Related guides
ApoB Blood Test UK
The particle count that sits inside every Lp(a) too.
Cholesterol Blood Test UK
What a standard lipid panel measures, and what it leaves out.
Cholesterol Levels by Age
How the numbers drift, decade by decade.
Heart Health Hub
Every heart marker guide in one place.
Normal CRP Levels UK
The inflammation marker that sits on the same heart panel.
Blood Test Reference Ranges UK
Why normal on a lab report is a population range, not a target.