Robert S. Nierzwicki, MD, Leads Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute West Region Lipid Management Program​

July 21, 2021 | 2 min. to read

The Lipid Management Program at Central DuPage Hospital aims to prevent cardiovascular disease in people who have genetically determined high cholesterol or other difficult-to-treat lipid disorders. The program, launched earlier this year, is led by Cardiologist Robert S. Nierzwicki, MD, and Nurse Practitioner Pamela Papp, APRN, both of whom are certified in clinical lipidology.

​People with familial hypercholesterolemia, or genetically determined high cholesterol, have 10 to 20 times greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease than the population overall. The condition affects about one in 250 people. “With genetically determined high cholesterol, you can do everything perfect — exercise, diet, weight management — and still be at much higher risk,” Dr. Nierzwicki says.

​The Lipid Management Program provides patient-specific medication regimens, including dual and triple therapy, along with nutrition counseling, lifestyle education and lifestyle therapy. Dr. Nierzwicki’s initial focus will be patients who have very high levels of LDL cholesterol, indicating likely genetic involvement, but he accepts referrals for patients with other lipid disease.
 
“I spend a lot of time understanding a patient's complete personal and family medical history to assess what risk may be involved,” Dr. Nierzwicki says. “Absent secondary causes, we may do genetic tests, but most diagnoses come from those detailed histories. I’ve found that understanding what a patient is experiencing is really crucial to helping them.”
 
While preventive cardiology is a growing field, specialized lipid management programs are not widely available. Dr. Nierzwicki hopes to grow the West Region program to involve additional physicians and providers, treatment for other areas of lipid disease, and participation in clinical trials.
 
Providers may refer patients to the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute West Region Lipid Management Program at CDH by entering an Epic referral under Lipid Clinic-West Region; patients may schedule an appointment with the lipid program by calling 630.315.1610.
 
Location:
Central DuPage Hospital
25 North Winfield Road, Suite 500

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Conditions treated

• ​Familial hypercholesterolemia
• Familial hypertriglyceridemia
• Intolerance to lipid-lowering therapies
• Poorly controlled secondary lipid disorders
• Severe hypercholesterolemia
• Severe hypertriglyceridemia
• Sitosterolemia