CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH
A professional medical interpretation for accurate diagnosis is always suggested.
A cardiovascular health blood test is a set of tests that help assess the health of your heart and blood vessels, which is especially important if you have diabetes.
Benefits of Early Screening
Key Advantages:
• Early detection reduces cardiovascular disease risk
• Allows prompt intervention before serious complications develop
• Provides opportunities to manage health proactively
Specific Benefits
Cardiovascular Risk Reduction:
• Screening can reduce cardiovascular event risk by up to 29%
• Early identification allows timely treatment
• Prevents progression of potential health issues
Diabetes Management:
• Reduces cardiovascular event likelihood
• Enables earlier lifestyle and medical interventions
• Can lower all-cause mortality risk
Hypertension Control:
• Early blood pressure management significantly reduces major cardiovascular events
• Controlling blood pressure within first year can prevent complications
• Particularly critical for patients with diabetes
Why It Matters for People with Diabetes
• Diabetes can cause high blood sugar levels, which over time can damage blood vessels and increase the risk of heart disease.
• People with diabetes are more likely to develop cardiovascular problems like heart attacks, strokes, or clogged arteries.
BEYOND HDL + LDL
We miss the boat by only testing HDL/LDL.
Lipoproteins = LDL, HDL, VLDL, IDL, Chylomicrons
Large/buoyant particles = good, less dense, more easily metabolized, generally less harmful
Small/dense particles = bad (higher cardiovascular disease, more easily penetrate arterial walls, susceptible to oxidation)
Chylomicrons = largest, least dense, primarily transport dietary triglycerides from the intestines to the liver, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue, composed mostly of triglycerides (about 83-84%) and minimal protein
LDL: low density lipoprotein, transports cholesterol to cells throughout the body
HDL: high density lipoprotein, collects excess cholesterol from tissues and transport it back to the liver for removal
ApoB (Apolipoprotein B): Component of LDL, VLDL, IDL. Facilitates the transport of cholesterol and triglycerides to cells by binding to LDL receptors on cell surfaces.
>ApoB LDL (lbLDL): large, buoyant = good
>ApoB LDL (sdLDL): small, dense = bad
>ApoB-100: Synthesized in the liver, it is essential for the formation of LDL and other lipoproteins that transport cholesterol throughout the body
>ApoB-48: Synthesized in the intestine, it is involved in chylomicron formation for dietary fat transport
IDL: intermediate density lipoprotein, not usually detectable in fasting blood, samples, intermediate in size and density between VLDL and LDL, formed during the breakdown of VLDL
VLDL = very low density lipoprotein (both good and bad), transports newly synthesized triglycerides from the liver to adipose tissue, contains a higher proportion of triglycerides (about 50%) compared to other lipoproteins, can lead to plaque build up, primarily transports triglycerides rather than cholesterol
ApoA1 protein = good, large HDL, primary protein in HDL, drives reverse cholesterol transport, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, helps remove cholesterol from arteries, low levels increase CD risk
Lp(a) = small, dense, essential for wound healing/bleeding prevention, protection against cognitive decline, bad when in excess
