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James Buckley, otherwise known as Jay from The Inbetweeners, has revealed he has a genetic condition which puts his health at risk.
The 38-year-old was speaking on his podcast, The Buckleys, with wife Clair Buckley, also 38, about a recent medical episode she had experienced.
After feeling ill for days, Clair was taken into hospital and told there was something wrong with her bloods, so she was ‘pumped full of fluids’ and put on antibiotics.
When Clair had finished recounting what had happened, James continued by announcing that he has ‘also had health problems’.
The actor explained that after some blood tests he found out he had high levels of lipoprotein (a) – a cholesterol-carrying lipoprotein in your blood – which puts him ‘at a high risk now for a cardiovascular incident’.
He told listeners: ‘There’s nothing you can do about it by the way.’
What does it mean to have high levels of lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a)?
Lipoproteins are ‘little groups of proteins and fats that help carry fats around your body’, according to British Heart Foundation. And lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a) is ‘a type of lipoprotein made by your liver.’
It explains that Lp(a) is made up of ‘a lipoprotein, similar to low density lipoprotein or LDL (sometimes called “bad” cholesterol)’, and ‘two proteins called ApoB and Apo(a)’.
The charity says ‘Apo(a) makes Lp(a) stickier. Because it’s sticky and travels around your body in your blood, having higher levels of Lp(a) can increase your risk of getting a blood clot.’
Therefore high levels of Lp(a) can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, like a heart attack or stroke.
Your Lp(a) levels are determined by the genes you get from your parents.
While James wanted some medicine to sort the issue out, he recounted with mild frustration how the doctor told him he needed to change his lifestyle.
The comedian’s wife teased him: ‘Yeah it’s weird isn’t it, being healthy?’
While Lp(a) levels aren’t affected by lifestyle factors, British Heart Foundation says ‘it’s still important to have healthy lifestyle and manage other risk factors, like high cholesterol’.
This can be done by staying active, cutting down on alcohol and stopping smoking, plus trying to eat recipes that are good for your heart.
Doctors might also put patients on statins to lower one’s risk of cardiovascular disease – the charity says they ‘do not directly reduce Lp(a) levels’ but ‘they can help make Lp(a) smaller’.
After James listed the parts of his body that could be compromised because of his issue, including his arteries, Clair quipped: ‘Stop clogging them with KFC.’
He reassured her that he hadn’t been, and has in fact ‘turned it around’.
Clair revealed that as James had been ‘worried’ about his condition, and her own medical issues, they hadn’t had a beer in ‘about two and a half weeks’.
@bobbywheelhouse responded strongly in the comments: ‘No beer is total s***. Glad you’re both alive.’
Another listener, @HotelSeptember shared his own experience with high lipoprotein (a). He said he ‘couldn’t keep up the lack of beer’ but that generally he tries to ‘eat healthy’.
James and Clair married in November 2012 and have two sons. Harrison was born in 2011 and Jude was born in 2013.
The Buckleys is available to listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and YouTube.