How to get lipoprotein(a) tested in Canada without a cardiologist

You don't need a cardiologist to get lipoprotein(a) tested in Canada. It's a standard blood test that a family physician or nurse practitioner can order, and private services can arrange the ordering for you.

The belief that it needs a specialist is common and understandable, since Lp(a) tends to come up in a cardiology context. But it's an ordinary lab test.

Your routes to an Lp(a) test

• Ask your family physician or NP. They can add it to a lipid requisition in BC; it has to be written in the "other tests" field, since it isn't pre-printed. Publicly funded in BC, once per lifetime.
• A private service that orders and collects for you (the simplest way), like Numia in Greater Vancouver.
• Patient-pay testing at a private lab. Availability varies by province.
• Telehealth services can arrange requisitions in some provinces, which you take to a collection site.

One thing to check before you test

If you've had Lp(a) measured before, check the units on the old result before comparing. Lp(a) is reported either in nmol/L, which counts particles, or in mg/dL, which measures mass, and you can't reliably convert between them. The ratio depends on genetic variation in particle size that differs from person to person, so there's no single accurate conversion factor.

An old result in one unit and a new one in the other aren't directly comparable. Canadian guidelines quote the risk threshold in both: 50 mg/dL, or 100 nmol/L.

What Numia includes

The Cardiac panel includes the physician’s order, at-home collection in Greater Vancouver and physician-reviewed results. It measures ApoB, Lp(a), hs-CRP, VLDL and a full lipid profile in one draw. Results are explained in plain English in your dashboard, with the Numia Companion, optional physician follow-up and specialist care coordination available on the same platform.

Since Lp(a) only needs measuring once, a single Cardiac panel covers your inherited-risk number and gives you the trackable markers at the same time.