Blood lipid level tests are an indirect predictor of cardiovascular risk. There are certain tests to predict the heart conditions. In this article, you are going to learn about these tests in detail.
Do you know; Lipid Profile Test is just an indirect predictor of cardiovascular risk.
Testing Heart Condition
Studies shows, people with high LDL (so-called “bad" cholesterol) live longest. Thus scientific studies suggest certain tests to predict heart health.
The purpose of cholesterol management is to prevent plaque formation and cardiovascular diseases. Testing cholesterol level is a weak predictor of a heart condition. Instead, there are many direct tests to assess heart risk. Some of the preferred tests are as below.
- C-Reactive protein (CRP) – is a protein considered as a marker of inflammation and heart risk. CRP is a reliable predictor of heart health that cholesterol level. High CRP is due to infection, inflammation, high sugar, excess weight, and hypercoagulability. The recommended optimal CRP level is lower than 0.8 mg/dL.
- Fibrinogen - is a blood protein, it determines the platelets stickiness, contributor to plaque formation. During injury, adequate fibrinogen level is required to stop bleeding by forming a blood clot. Fibrinogen may elevate during inflammation, especially during periodontal disease. The normal fibrinogen range is 200 to 400 mg/dL.
- Homocysteine - determines folate (vitamin B9) or vitamin B12 deficiency. This deficiency increases the risk of heart attack or stroke. High homocysteine is common among alcoholics, digestion-absorption problem, or chronic kidney disease. Clinical testing laboratories recommended a healthy homocysteine level is between 5 to 8 µmol/L.
- Interleukin-6 (IL-6) - is a better inflammation predictor than CRP. And stronger risk predictor of heart disease and asthma. IL-6 stimulates the liver to produce a C-reactive protein (CRP). Il-6 is undetectable in the blood or is present in low quantities. Any serum level of ≥ 4.30 pg/mL defined as elevated.
- Agatston test - is coronary calcium scan provides a calcium score. This score based on the level of calcium deposits in your coronary (heart) arteries. Normal healthy Agatston score is 0. Higher Agatston score indicates a higher likelihood of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease (CHD). A negative score indicates there is no calcification found in the arteries. Additionally, this means there is a low chance for heart attack in the next five years.