The essential heart screen: full lipid panel plus ApoB (the single best predictor of cardiovascular risk), Lp(a) (one-time genetic risk), and C-reactive protein for vascular inflammation. Atlas AI scores every result against optimal ranges.
The Heart Health panel is a lipid panel plus three markers a routine cholesterol check often leaves out. It measures total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides, non-HDL cholesterol and the total cholesterol to HDL ratio, apolipoprotein B, lipoprotein(a) and C-reactive protein. It suits adults who want a clearer view of cardiovascular risk than standard lipids alone give.
This page is educational and is not medical advice. Every result here is worth discussing with a clinician or licensed provider who knows your history.
It measures the cardiovascular markers listed below, which together describe how much atherogenic cholesterol is circulating, how many particles are carrying it, one largely inherited lipoprotein that a standard profile does not capture, and one general marker of inflammation.
| Group | Markers | What they show |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiovascular | Total / LDL / HDL / Triglycerides | The standard lipid profile. Total cholesterol is the whole circulating pool, LDL cholesterol is the cholesterol carried in low density particles, HDL cholesterol is the fraction carried in high density particles, and triglycerides reflect circulating fat that moves with diet, alcohol and insulin signalling. |
| Cardiovascular | Non-HDL / TC:HDL ratio | Two calculated values. Non-HDL cholesterol is everything in the pool that is not HDL, so it captures the cholesterol sitting inside all atherogenic particles. The ratio compares the total pool with the HDL fraction in a single number. |
| Cardiovascular | Apolipoprotein B | A particle count rather than a cholesterol concentration. One ApoB molecule sits on each atherogenic lipoprotein, so the measurement reflects how many of those particles are in circulation. |
| Cardiovascular | Lipoprotein(a) | An LDL like particle carrying an extra attached protein. Blood levels are largely set by genetics and tend to stay stable across adult life. |
| Cardiovascular | C-Reactive Protein | A liver protein that rises with inflammation anywhere in the body, adding context that cholesterol numbers alone do not carry. |
Because each marker answers a question the others cannot. Cholesterol - Total describes the size of the whole pool, while LDL Cholesterol estimates the cholesterol packed inside low density particles. That estimate is useful, but the amount of cholesterol per particle varies between people, so two readers with an identical LDL number can be carrying very different particle counts. Apolipoprotein B closes that gap by counting the particles themselves, and research suggests ApoB tracks cardiovascular risk more closely than LDL cholesterol or non-HDL cholesterol when those measures disagree 1 2. Clinical consensus documents have argued for using ApoB alongside the standard profile in risk assessment rather than discarding the older measures 3 4.
Triglycerides and HDL Cholesterol describe the metabolic side of the picture, and the Cholesterol / HDL Ratio compresses that relationship into one figure that labs regard as a quick summary of balance. Lipoprotein (a) sits outside all of it. Its concentration is largely inherited and is not meaningfully reflected in a standard lipid profile 5, and research associates raised lipoprotein(a) with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and with aortic valve disease 6 7 8. C-Reactive Protein adds the inflammatory axis, because arterial disease involves an inflammatory process as well as a lipid one. Read together, the set shows how much cholesterol is circulating, in how many particles, with how much inherited particle burden, against how much background inflammation.
Adults who want more detail than a basic cholesterol check gives are the usual starting point, and no one needs to be unwell to find the information useful. People often look into this set when there is a family history of early heart attack, stroke or raised lipoprotein(a), since research indicates lipoprotein(a) levels cluster strongly in families 9. European consensus guidance has recommended measuring lipoprotein(a) at least once in adults so that the inherited component of risk is known rather than assumed 7.
Other common reasons include a change in body composition, nutrition or training that someone wants to track objectively, an earlier borderline cholesterol result that was never followed up, or a wish to see particle count and inflammation alongside the familiar numbers. In people with insulin resistance, central weight gain or a metabolic condition, triglycerides and HDL often move before anything else does. In people already taking lipid lowering therapy, repeat testing is usually organised and interpreted by the prescribing clinician. Symptoms such as chest discomfort, breathlessness on exertion or palpitations are not a reason to wait for a blood draw, and are worth raising with a clinician promptly.
You order the panel online, and the lab requisition is emailed to you. The draw happens at a Quest or partner lab location, with sites available nationwide, so there is no clinic visit to arrange first. If you add other panels, they run from the same blood sample rather than requiring a second appointment.
Once the lab reports, Atlas, FitScript's AI health advisor, reads every marker against optimal ranges and explains what each value shows in context with the others. The current price, turnaround and any fasting instructions are listed in the panel details on this page. A clinician or licensed provider remains the person who interprets your results clinically and decides on any next step.
Follow the preparation instructions shown in the panel details on this page, since fasting requirements differ by panel and by lab. Reviews of lipid testing note that non-fasting samples are acceptable in many situations, with fasting reserved for particular circumstances, which is one reason the instruction on the page is the one to follow rather than general advice 10.
A few practical points make results easier to compare over time.
Keep taking any prescribed medication as directed unless your clinician tells you otherwise. Stopping a medicine to make a number look better defeats the purpose of the test.
Read each value in three steps, what the number shows, what it may reflect, and what is worth raising with a clinician. A single result is an observation, not a conclusion.
The table below lists typical lab reference ranges for reporting purposes. Reference ranges vary by lab, age and sex, and your own report is the version that counts.
| Marker | Units | Typical lab reference range |
|---|---|---|
| Total cholesterol | mg/dL | Commonly reported as desirable below 200 |
| LDL cholesterol | mg/dL | Commonly reported as optimal below 100 |
| HDL cholesterol | mg/dL | Commonly 40 and above in men, 50 and above in women |
| Triglycerides | mg/dL | Commonly reported as normal below 150 |
| Non-HDL cholesterol | mg/dL | Commonly reported as desirable below 130 |
| Total cholesterol to HDL ratio | ratio | Labs regard lower values as more favourable, often flagging above roughly 5 |
| Apolipoprotein B | mg/dL | Reference intervals vary by lab, with many reports regarding values below roughly 90 to 100 as favourable |
| Lipoprotein(a) | nmol/L or mg/dL | Often regarded as raised above roughly 125 nmol/L or 50 mg/dL, with thresholds varying by assay |
| C-reactive protein | mg/L | High sensitivity results are commonly grouped as below 1, 1 to 3, and above 3 |
Lipoprotein(a) deserves a note of its own, because assays report in either nmol/L or mg/dL and the two are not interchangeable, which has been a long running measurement issue in the literature 11 7.
Standard reference ranges describe where most tested people fall, which is a different question from where a value sits for someone pursuing optimisation. Optimal ranges are optimisation targets rather than diagnostic cut-offs, and Atlas reads your markers against them without turning a single number into a verdict. A value outside the standard range is best described as suboptimal and worth discussing, never ignored. On retesting, most lipid and inflammatory markers are repeated on a cadence your clinician advises after a meaningful change in nutrition, training, body weight or medication, whereas lipoprotein(a) is usually measured once because it stays largely stable through adult life 5.
It cannot diagnose anything. Blood markers describe risk factors and biological patterns, and they do not show whether plaque is present in an artery, how much of it there is, or whether a vessel is narrowed. Those questions belong to clinical assessment and sometimes to imaging such as coronary artery calcium scoring or carotid ultrasound, which a clinician decides on.
C-reactive protein is non-specific, so a raised value may reflect infection, injury, recent intense exercise or another inflammatory process rather than anything cardiovascular. Lipid values move with recent diet, alcohol, illness and weight change, which is why one draw is a snapshot and a trend is more informative. The panel also says nothing about blood pressure, glucose regulation, kidney function or thyroid status, all of which interact with cardiovascular risk. Research into therapies that specifically lower lipoprotein(a) is still developing, so a raised result is currently used as information about risk to discuss with a clinician rather than an automatic prompt for treatment 12. Any decision about medication is made by a licensed provider who evaluates whether it is appropriate for you.
This panel covers the standard lipid profile and the three additions that a routine cholesterol check usually skips, so it is the broad starting point for cardiovascular markers. If a fuller cardiovascular workup is the aim, Cardiovascular Deep is the more advanced option to look at next. If inflammation is the main question, Advanced Inflammation goes further on that axis than a single C-reactive protein value can. Panels added together run from the same blood sample, and membership includes 150+ biomarkers tested per year.
The current price is listed in the panel details on this page, together with the turnaround and any fasting instructions. Those details are the authoritative version, so check them there before ordering.
Heart Health covers the essentials, full lipid panel, ApoB, Lp(a), and cardiac CRP, at an entry price. Cardiovascular Deep adds homocysteine and a deeper vascular workup. Start with Heart Health; step up to Deep if you have family history or elevated results.
ApoB is the protein on every artery-clogging particle in your blood. Leading cardiologists consider it the single best marker for cardiovascular risk, better than LDL alone. Under 80 mg/dL is optimal.
Lipoprotein(a) is genetically determined and one of the strongest independent risk factors for heart disease. About 20% of people have elevated Lp(a) and most never know. It only needs to be tested once.
A lipid panel blood test is a single blood draw that measures the fats circulating in your blood, usually total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides, with non-HDL cholesterol and the cholesterol to HDL ratio calculated from them. It describes cardiovascular risk factors, and a clinician interprets what the pattern means for you.
It tests for how much cholesterol and triglyceride is circulating and how that load is distributed between particle types. The standard values are total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides, plus calculated non-HDL cholesterol and the cholesterol to HDL ratio. It does not test for plaque, narrowing or heart disease itself.
A lipid profile test covers the four standard values and the calculations drawn from them. This panel keeps all of that and adds apolipoprotein B, which counts atherogenic particles, lipoprotein(a), which is largely inherited and invisible on a standard profile, and C-reactive protein, which reflects background inflammation rather than cholesterol.
Follow the preparation instructions shown in the panel details on this page, because requirements differ by panel and by lab. Non-fasting samples are acceptable in many situations, with fasting reserved for specific circumstances. Drink water normally, and ask your clinician before pausing any supplement or medication.
Because LDL cholesterol measures the cholesterol inside particles, while apolipoprotein B counts the particles. Cholesterol content per particle varies between people, so two readers with the same LDL value can carry different particle numbers. When the two measures disagree, a clinician interprets what that means for you.
Most lipid and inflammatory markers are repeated on a cadence your clinician advises, often after a meaningful change in nutrition, training, body weight or medication, so the trend is interpretable. Lipoprotein(a) is usually measured once, because its level is largely inherited and stays fairly stable across adult life.
No. Blood markers describe risk factors and biological patterns, and no blood value shows whether plaque is present, how much there is, or whether an artery is narrowed. Those questions need clinical assessment and sometimes imaging such as coronary artery calcium scoring, which a clinician decides on.
A raised C-reactive protein shows inflammation somewhere in the body, and it is non-specific. Recent infection, injury, surgery or very intense exercise can all raise it, so timing matters. Interpreted alongside the lipid markers it adds context, and a value outside the standard range is worth discussing with a clinician.