Heart & circulation lab tests

Each particle that can carry cholesterol into your artery walls has a single ApoB protein on it. Counting ApoB can show how many of these particles are in your blood.

Lipoprotein (a) is a cholesterol-carrying particle linked to heart attack and stroke. Its level is set mostly by your genes and stays fairly steady through life.

Measures C-reactive protein (CRP), a protein your liver makes when there’s inflammation. This sensitive version picks up low, ongoing levels linked to heart and blood vessel health, and a recent cold or injury can raise it.

HDL is often called “good” cholesterol because it helps carry extra cholesterol away from your arteries to your liver. Higher levels can be linked with lower heart risk.

Triglycerides are the most common type of fat in your body. Extra calories, especially from sugar, starchy foods and alcohol, are turned into triglycerides and stored for later.

ApoA1 is the main protein inside HDL, the “good” cholesterol carrier. It gives another view of your HDL, which helps move extra cholesterol out of your arteries.

Your heart can release BNP when it’s working too hard or stretched by extra fluid. Higher levels can be a sign of heart failure, when the heart doesn’t pump as well as it should.

Total cholesterol adds up all the cholesterol in your blood, both the kind that can clog arteries and the kind that helps clear it. It’s a broad first look at heart health.

This enzyme, a type of protein, is tied to inflammation inside your artery walls, where plaque, a fatty buildup, can form. Higher activity can be one sign of greater risk for heart disease and stroke.

LDL is often called “bad” cholesterol. This test measures LDL that has been damaged by oxidation, a chemical change a bit like rusting, which makes it more likely to help build plaque, the fatty buildup in arteries.

TMAO forms when gut bacteria break down certain nutrients in foods like red meat and eggs, and your liver finishes the job. Higher levels may be linked to heart and kidney disease.

Not all LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, is the same. This test measures the cholesterol carried in small, dense LDL particles, which slip into artery walls more easily and can help build plaque, a fatty buildup.

LDL is the “bad” cholesterol that can build up in artery walls. Here it’s measured directly instead of estimated from other results, which can be more accurate when blood fats run high.