Cardiovascular
8 markers in this category
ApoB (Apolipoprotein B)
Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) is the main protein on LDL and other atherogenic lipoproteins. Each atherogenic particle carries exactly one ApoB molecule, making it a precise measure of the total number of particles that can contribute to plaque formation.
Cholesterol/HDL Ratio
The cholesterol/HDL ratio is your total cholesterol divided by your HDL. The number summarises how your favourable and unfavourable cholesterol relate to each other. A lower ratio points to a more favourable profile and a lower cardiovascular risk. Learn what your value can mean.
HDL Cholesterol
HDL cholesterol is the amount of cholesterol carried inside the HDL particles in your blood. Those particles pick cholesterol up from your tissues and from the artery wall and take it back to the liver. That transport is what earned HDL the nickname good cholesterol. The nickname is misleading. HDL is above all a mirror of your metabolism: the value drops with excess weight, insulin resistance, smoking and inactivity, and it is those factors that carry the risk. Drugs that raise HDL substantially do not reduce the number of cardiovascular events. And more is not always better: at very high values, mortality in large population studies turns back upwards. So never read your HDL on its own. It only takes on meaning alongside your triglycerides, your LDL and your overall risk profile.
LDL Cholesterol
LDL cholesterol is the amount of cholesterol carried inside LDL particles, the particles that can build up in the artery wall. That is where its nickname comes from: the bad cholesterol. Two things rarely appear on a report. First, in a routine lipid panel LDL is usually not measured but calculated from your total cholesterol, your HDL and your triglycerides. Second, the 3.0 mmol/l upper limit is a population reference interval, not a target. What counts as a good LDL for you is decided by your overall cardiovascular risk, not by the line printed on the page.
Lipoprotein(a)
Lp(a), in full lipoprotein(a), is an LDL-like particle with an extra protein bolted onto it: apolipoprotein(a). That single extra protein makes the particle more damaging to the artery wall than an ordinary LDL particle. What makes Lp(a) unusual is that its level is more than 90 percent written into your DNA. It is set by the LPA gene, fixed early in life, and barely changes afterwards. Diet, exercise and weight loss shift the value hardly at all. That is why European consensus recommends measuring Lp(a) at least once in the life of every adult. A single test usually suffices: you learn a number that will not change again.
Non-HDL Cholesterol
Non-HDL cholesterol is your total cholesterol minus your HDL cholesterol. What remains is the cholesterol carried inside every particle that can lodge in an artery wall: LDL, IDL, VLDL, the remnant particles left after fat digestion, and Lp(a). One number, in other words, for the entire atherogenic burden, and no extra test is needed to obtain it. The strength of non-HDL lies in what it does not need. No formula is involved and you do not have to fast. Precisely where a calculated LDL becomes unreliable, with high triglycerides or after a meal, non-HDL still holds. The upper limit of 3.3 mmol/l printed on your result is a population reference value, not a target. What counts as a good value for you depends on your risk profile.
Total Cholesterol
Total cholesterol measures the combined amount of HDL, LDL, and VLDL cholesterol in your blood. It provides an overview of your lipid status but should be interpreted alongside individual components for a complete cardiovascular risk picture.
Triglycerides
Triglycerides are the most common type of fat in the body, used for energy storage. Elevated levels may be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, especially when combined with other lipid abnormalities.