Father-of-five, 47, dies unexpectedly of little-known KILLER cholesterol while out for morning run
PERTH, AUSTRALIA: After a healthy father of five suddenly died while out for a run, doctors are urging further testing for a little-known cardiac ailment. When Ben Beale suffered a heart attack in 2017 while out running and training for a charity boxing match in Perth, he was only 47 years old.
Just a week prior to the tragedy, he had received medical clearance. His wife, Sarah Beale, stated that tests conducted prior to his death revealed he had a low likelihood of experiencing another heart attack in the future, and that her husband's death was first believed to be a "one-off catastrophic event", pertaining to high levels of a particular uncommon cholesterol.
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According to Professor Jason Kovacic, executive director of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney, Beale's heart attack was caused in part by an elevated level of the uncommon cholesterol lipoprotein (a), or Lp(a). He claims that this mostly unidentified kind of cholesterol raises young people's risk for heart attacks and strokes. The evidence connecting Lp(a) to an increased risk of strokes and heart attacks, according to Prof Kovacic, is "unquestionable."
Up to 20% of the population may have at least a mild elevation of Lp(a), according to estimates. However, according to Prof Kovacic, Lp(a), often known as the "second bad cholesterol," is virtually unknown to the general population and many medical professionals. The term "bad cholesterol" most commonly refers to LDL cholesterol. High LDL levels increase the risk of heart diseases and strokes and are typically tied to lifestyle choices. Contrary to LDL, Lp(a) levels are thought to be mostly inherited, making it possible for even people with healthy lives to have high levels.
Cardiologists have discovered increased levels of Lp(a) in people who have had heart attacks and strokes in their 30s as well as in families with a history of the disease. According to Kovacic, heart attacks could be brought on by high levels of Lp(a) in young, generally healthy people. "We have long wondered why healthy people with low cholesterol levels and seemingly no other major risk factors like smoking or diabetes can suffer heart attacks," he told The Sydney Morning Herald.
According to Prof Kovacic, an autopsy of Beale's death showed he had "extensive cholesterol and fat in the walls of his arteries". "That's what we see in people that have genetically higher levels of Lp(a) … they just have rapid progression of a lot of cholesterol and fat laid out in the walls of their arteries, and they just have a heart attack early on before the thing's even had an opportunity to harden [into calcium]," the cardiologist said.
Beale's post-mortem also revealed that he had experienced two to three previous heart attacks and that a piece of his heart had already stopped beating. In retrospect, Ms Beale says they should have had more blood tests done even though her husband was "extremely fit."
"If we'd known, he could have been tested for Lp(a). It would have completely changed our entire life," she said. Four members of her family have elevated Lp(a) levels, she claimed, and after her husband's death, she is now collaborating with the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute to bring about a change. "I'm determined to ensure that Ben's death does not just become just another statistic – which is why I am urging you all to support our plans to establish the Ben Beale Laboratory in Cardiovascular Research," she said in a statement. "We're committed to opening this laboratory at the Institute's base at the University of Western Australia on April 24th – to mark the fifth anniversary of Ben's passing. What happened to Ben could happen to any of us – he was at the peak of his fitness and health and had no idea he was suffering from a disease that takes far too many lives."