ADVANCED BLOOD TESTING

Monday, June 20, 2011

Lowering total cholesterol is an important goal in preventive care, but it’s not nearly enough. In fact, most people who suffer heart attacks have average cholesterol levels. The fact is that one person can have a low cholesterol number and be at grave risk of a heart attack, while someone else with a higher figure will be fine. The familiar total cholesterol figure alone doesn’t tell the entire story. By now, most people will realize there are two basic types of cholesterol – the so – called good kind (high – density lipoproteins, or HDLs) and the bad (low – density, or LDLs). The ratio of good to bad is an important factor, one which is today commonly measured by diagnostic blood work. But there are also other factors that must be considered, and for this reason advanced lipid testing has now become a requirement in any serious cardiac care.

The most sophisticated blood labs are now capable of measuring five different subgroups of HDL and seven of LDL. One thing they evaluate is the size of the cholesterol particles. In essence, large particles are good and small ones are bad. Large HDLs have proved to be more efficient at their job of clearing away bad fats than small HDLs are. Even more important though is the difference between large and small LDL particles. The small ones squeeze more easily under the lining of blood vessels, where they form the plaque that narrows arteries. Larger LDL particles can’t slide beneath the linings so well and as a result their potential for harm is smaller.