Heart health is an essential component to your overall wellbeing. The heart pumps blood full of life-sustaining oxygen and nutrients throughout your body.
This blood test for heart function measures the fatty substances (cholesterol and triglycerides) within the blood along with the inflammation levels commonly used to evaluate heart disease risk.
Cholesterol is one of the most prominent substances traveling within the blood, making it an excellent gauge of heart health. High cholesterol usually has no symptoms, meaning you may have high cholesterol without knowing it. Knowing your cholesterol numbers is the first step towards a healthy heart and healthy life.
This test also measures (at high sensitivity) the level of C-reactive protein (hs-CRP): a substance made by the liver in response to inflammation, which may indicate the presence of an illness, injury, or infection. Elevated hs-CRP levels are associated with several diseases and conditions including diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer.
Note: hs-CRP levels can be elevated from recent injury, illnesses or infection. Further testing may be required to determine the source of hs-CRP elevation.
Preparation: Fast for 12 hours (no food or drink, except water).
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S.¹ Without testing, most people do not know they have high cholesterol levels.
Heart health tests can be appropriate for a healthy person, especially when there is a family history of heart disease, heart attack or stroke.²
By living a healthy lifestyle, you can lower your risk of heart disease and heart attack.
By living a healthy lifestyle, you can lower your risk of heart disease and heart attack.
A healthy lifestyle includes³:
• Eating a healthy diet
• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Exercising regularly
• Not smoking or using other forms of tobacco
• Limiting alcohol use
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart Disease Facts. Centers for Disease Control website. Reviewed October 14, 2022. Accessed November 2, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/heart-disease/data-research/facts-stats
2. American Heart Association. Family History and Heart Disease, Stroke. American Heart Association website. Reviewed July 31, 2015. Accessed November 2, 2022. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/what-is-cardiovascular-disease/family-history-and-heart-disease-stroke
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevent Heart Disease. Centers for Disease Control website. Reviewed October 24, 2022. Accessed November 2, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/prevention.htm
4. American Heart Association. What Your Cholesterol Levels Mean. American Heart Association website. Reviewed November 6, 2020. Accessed December 5, 2022. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cholesterol/about-cholesterol/what-your-cholesterol-levels-mean
<p>1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart Disease Facts. Centers for Disease Control website. Reviewed October 14, 2022. Accessed November 2, 2022. <a title="Facts Stats" href="https://www.cdc.gov/heart-disease/data-research/facts-stats" target="_blank">https://www.cdc.gov/heart-disease/data-research/facts-stats</a></p> <p>2. American Heart Association. Family History and Heart Disease, Stroke. American Heart Association website. Reviewed July 31, 2015. Accessed November 2, 2022. <a href="https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/what-is-cardiovascular-disease/family-history-and-heart-disease-stroke" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" title="heart disease stroke">https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/what-is-cardiovascular-disease/family-history-and-heart-disease-stroke</a></p> <p>3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevent Heart Disease. Centers for Disease Control website. Reviewed October 24, 2022. Accessed November 2, 2022. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/heart-disease/prevention/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" title="Preventing Heart Disease">https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/prevention.htm</a></p> <p>4. American Heart Association. What Your Cholesterol Levels Mean. American Heart Association website. Reviewed November 6, 2020. Accessed December 5, 2022. <a href="https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cholesterol/about-cholesterol/what-your-cholesterol-levels-mean" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" title="cholesterol levels">https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cholesterol/about-cholesterol/what-your-cholesterol-levels-mean</a></p>
This cholesterol and lipid panel measures both LDL and HDL cholesterol levels to help you get a better picture of your heart health.
Lipids are microscopic fatty substances (including cholesterol and triglycerides) within your body. Assessing them can reveal much about your overall health. For example, high levels of “bad” LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol can build up in the walls of your arteries, increasing your risk for heart disease. Conversely, high levels of “good” HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol can remove LDL cholesterol from your body, reducing your risk for heart disease.
High cholesterol usually has no symptoms, meaning you may have high cholesterol without knowing it. Knowing your cholesterol numbers is the first step towards a healthy heart and healthy life.
A measure of the total sum of cholesterol (LDL, HDL, and VLDL) circulating in the body.
Measures the amount of LDL cholesterol in the blood. LDL cholesterol is known as the “bad” cholesterol because LDL particles can build up in the walls of your arteries, which increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Measures the amount of VLDL cholesterol in blood, the cholesterol carried in particles that also carry triglycerides throughout the body and are then converted to LDL. Elevated VLDL levels can increase your risk of heart disease.
Measures the amount of HDL cholesterol in the blood. HDL is known as "good" cholesterol because it comes from particles that remove "bad "cholesterol from the body, which reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Measures the amount of triglycerides, a type of fat that circulates in your blood and comes from adipose, the primary fat stored from food used to provide your energy. High triglyceride levels can increase the risk of heart disease.
Inflammation is part of your body’s natural defense mechanism in response to injury, infection or irritants created to combat and fix the damage or symptom.
This high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) blood inflammation test measures the level of the C-reactive protein: a substance made by the liver in response to inflammation. The results of this inflammation test may indicate the presence of an illness, injury or infection. Elevated CRP levels are associated with several diseases and conditions including chronic inflammation, heart disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer.
Note: CRP levels can be elevated from intense exercise (weight training or a long run), recent injury, illnesses or infection. Further testing and clinical consultation with a health care provider may be required to determine the source of CRP elevation.
Measures (at high sensitivity) the level of C-reactive protein: a substance made by the liver in response to inflammation.
View your easy-to-read results online in your Labcorp Patient™ account, including Linked Accounts. For certain results that require prompt attention, you will also be contacted by phone or mail.
Our Heart Health Test evaluates your overall risk for heart disease. Your results will let you know whether you have high levels of cholesterol (a major risk factor for heart disease) or high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), a substance made by the liver in response to inflammation. Having high hs-CRP levels may indicate the presence of an illness, injury or infection.
Results should be discussed with a healthcare provider and, especially if they’re outside of the standard range, may be followed by further testing or a medical exam. It is important to talk with your healthcare provider to understand the details of your health test and what the results mean for your health.
Your testing will be performed in a CLIA-certified clinical laboratory. Labcorp provides leading-edge medical laboratory tests and services through a national network of primary clinical laboratories and specialty testing laboratories. Our labs perform regular quality assurance testing to ensure our results are accurate.
Your results will be provided to you through our secure online portal to view or print. Results are also made available through a secure portal to the independent healthcare provider who placed your test order. If you are accessing your results through your Labcorp Patient™ account, all users linked to the account will have access to all OnDemand test results. Results may also be provided to a local, state, and/or federal health authority; for example, many states require the testing laboratory and physician to report test results for certain communicable diseases, such as COVID-19, to local or state health departments.
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Visit the Labcorp OnDemand® website to browse and purchase laboratory tests and create your Labcorp Patient™ account to view your results. All Labcorp OnDemand testing requires an order from an authorized healthcare professional. For your convenience, Labcorp OnDemand has contracted with independent professional entities (collectively, Providers) to deliver healthcare provider services. Visit a Labcorp location for sample collection; or, if using an at-home collection kit, collect your sample yourself. We’ll let you know when your results are ready and can be accessed through your Labcorp Patient™ account.
