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The standard lipid panel measures total cholesterol, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, HDL (“good”) cholesterol, and triglycerides. It’s the baseline most physicals stop at — we use it as a starting point, then go far deeper with particle-level testing, because cholesterol totals alone miss a large share of cardiovascular risk.

Standard LDL-C estimates the cholesterol carried by your LDL, but risk tracks with the number and size of the particles themselves. Ion-mobility fractionation counts your LDL particles and measures how small and dense they are — small, dense LDL is more strongly associated with plaque formation than large, buoyant LDL.

Every atherogenic particle carries exactly one ApoB protein, so ApoB is a direct count of the particles that can lodge in your artery walls. Large analyses have found ApoB predicts cardiovascular events better than LDL cholesterol — especially when the two disagree, which is common in metabolic dysfunction. It’s one of the most important numbers most standard panels never report.

ApoA1 is the main protein in HDL (“good”) cholesterol and reflects how well your HDL can carry cholesterol away from artery walls. Read alongside ApoB, it helps paint a fuller picture of the balance between plaque-forming and plaque-clearing particles than cholesterol totals alone.

Lipoprotein(a) is a largely inherited particle that can meaningfully raise cardiovascular risk. It affects roughly 1 in 5 people, yet very few have ever been tested. Because it’s about 90% genetic, a single lifetime measurement usually tells you what you need to know — and it’s almost never part of a standard cholesterol panel.

Oxidized LDL reflects LDL particles that have been chemically damaged and are actively contributing to plaque formation and arterial inflammation. It’s one of the more direct signals of whether cholesterol is causing harm right now, rather than simply how much is circulating.

This panel measures key omega-3 (like EPA and DHA) and omega-6 fatty acids and the balance between them. That balance influences inflammation and cardiovascular health, and it’s one of the most responsive markers to dietary change — making it a useful way to track how nutrition shifts are landing.

A1C reflects your average blood glucose over roughly three months. Because metabolic dysfunction is a major, often-silent driver of heart disease, tracking A1C helps surface insulin resistance and rising blood-sugar trends early — well before they’d show up as a fasting-glucose problem.

Fasting insulin can climb long before fasting glucose or A1C move, making it one of the earliest windows into insulin resistance — a root driver of cardiovascular and metabolic risk. Standard panels rarely include it, which is why early metabolic dysfunction so often goes unseen. (Paired with glucose, it also lets us calculate HOMA-IR.)

Beyond its role in gout, uric acid is associated with blood pressure, metabolic health, and cardiovascular risk. Elevated levels can reflect underlying metabolic dysfunction, so we track it as part of the fuller metabolic picture.

The CMP is a 14-analyte panel covering fasting glucose, electrolytes (like sodium and potassium), kidney markers (creatinine, eGFR), and liver enzymes (ALT, AST). It’s a broad safety-and-function check that anchors both your metabolic picture and organ health — one composite order that expands into many individual biomarkers.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein detects the low-grade, systemic inflammation that fuels atherosclerosis. Because heart disease is as much an inflammatory process as a cholesterol one, hs-CRP adds risk information a lipid panel can’t — sometimes flagging concern even when cholesterol looks fine.

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate is a long-established, general measure of inflammation. Read alongside more specific markers like hs-CRP, it helps confirm whether an inflammatory process is present and worth understanding further with your care team.

Myeloperoxidase is an enzyme released by active immune cells that points to inflammation within the blood-vessel wall itself — the kind tied to unstable, vulnerable plaque. It adds a vascular-specific layer to the inflammation picture that general markers can miss.

Lp-PLA2 is an enzyme closely linked to inflammation inside the artery wall and to plaque that’s more prone to rupture. Unlike broad inflammatory markers, it’s relatively specific to vascular inflammation, helping distinguish arterial risk from general inflammation.

Homocysteine is an amino acid that, at elevated levels, is associated with damage to the blood-vessel lining and higher cardiovascular risk. It’s often influenced by B-vitamin status and methylation, so it can point toward root causes that are addressable through nutrition with your care team.

ANA is a screening marker for autoimmune activity. Because autoimmune and inflammatory conditions can quietly contribute to cardiovascular and whole-body risk, we include it to help surface immune drivers that standard cardiac workups overlook.

Rheumatoid factor is an antibody linked to rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions. Chronic inflammation of this kind is associated with elevated cardiovascular risk, so it adds another lens on the immune and inflammatory factors that shape heart health.

Thyroid-stimulating hormone is the pituitary’s signal to the thyroid and the first-line marker of thyroid function. Because thyroid status influences metabolism, cholesterol, and heart rate, an out-of-range TSH can ripple into cardiovascular and metabolic health.

Free T4 measures the unbound thyroxine available to your cells. Paired with TSH and Free T3, it gives a fuller view of thyroid function than TSH alone — useful because thyroid imbalances can quietly affect cholesterol, weight, and cardiovascular health.

Free T3 is the most metabolically active thyroid hormone. Measuring it alongside TSH and Free T4 helps reveal how well your body is converting and using thyroid hormone — a factor in energy, metabolism, and heart health that a single TSH can miss.

Thyroid antibodies (thyroglobulin and TPO) reveal whether an autoimmune process is affecting your thyroid — the most common cause of thyroid dysfunction. Since thyroid health influences metabolism and cardiovascular risk, catching an autoimmune driver early opens more room to act.

We measure both total testosterone and the free, biologically active fraction. Testosterone influences muscle, metabolism, mood, and cardiovascular health in people of all genders, and because much of it circulates bound and inactive, the free measure often reflects true hormonal status more accurately. Imbalances frequently travel with metabolic dysfunction.

Estradiol is a primary form of estrogen relevant to people of all genders. It plays a role in blood-vessel function, bone, and metabolic health, so it’s part of the hormonal picture that shapes cardiovascular risk over time.

Progesterone helps round out the hormonal picture, particularly for women, and supports interpretation of the broader endocrine balance that intersects with metabolic and cardiovascular health.

DHEA-S is an adrenal hormone that serves as a building block for other hormones and reflects hormonal reserve and stress physiology. Because chronic stress is a genuine driver of cardiovascular risk, DHEA-S adds insight into that often-overlooked dimension.

Sex hormone-binding globulin controls how much of your testosterone and estrogen is bound versus free and active. It also tracks with insulin resistance, so it helps connect hormonal and metabolic health in one measure.

Cortisol is the body’s primary stress hormone, and a morning measurement captures it near its natural daily peak. Chronically dysregulated cortisol is linked to blood pressure, metabolism, and cardiovascular risk, making it a meaningful part of a root-cause picture.

Gamma-glutamyl transferase is a liver enzyme that, beyond liver health, is associated with oxidative stress and metabolic and cardiovascular risk. Even within “normal” ranges, rising GGT can hint at metabolic strain worth understanding.

Amylase is an enzyme primarily from the pancreas. It’s included as part of a thorough organ-function and safety picture, helping ensure the systems around your metabolic health are working as they should.

Lipase, another pancreatic enzyme, complements amylase in checking pancreatic and digestive health — part of the comprehensive organ-function screening that surrounds your cardiovascular and metabolic markers. (Your kidney and liver markers are also covered within the Comprehensive Metabolic Panel.)

The complete blood count with differential measures red cells, white cells (and their types), and platelets. It’s a foundational health and safety panel that can surface anemia, immune activity, and clotting-related factors — one composite order expanding into many individual values.

Total iron reflects the iron available for making hemoglobin and delivering oxygen. Both low and high iron can affect cardiovascular and metabolic health, so it’s read alongside ferritin for a fuller iron-status picture.

Ferritin reflects stored iron and doubles as an inflammation marker, since it rises with inflammatory activity. That dual role makes it useful for understanding both nutrient status and hidden inflammation.

25-hydroxyvitamin D is the best measure of vitamin D status. Deficiency is common and associated with cardiovascular, immune, and metabolic health — and because it’s so responsive to supplementation and sunlight, it’s a highly actionable marker to track.

Vitamin B12 supports nerve function, red-blood-cell formation, and healthy homocysteine metabolism. Low B12 can raise homocysteine and cause fatigue, so it connects nutrient status to cardiovascular risk in a very addressable way.

Folate works with B12 to keep homocysteine in a healthy range and support methylation — the biochemistry behind many root-cause pathways. It’s a nutrient lever that’s straightforward to correct once measured.

Measuring magnesium inside red blood cells reflects tissue stores more accurately than a standard serum test. Magnesium supports heart rhythm, blood pressure, and metabolic health, making adequate levels quietly important for cardiovascular wellbeing.

Zinc powers hundreds of enzymes involved in immune defense, tissue repair, taste and smell, and hormone production. Levels can run low with certain diets, medications, and gut conditions — and because deficiency is easy to correct once you can see it, it's a highly actionable marker.

Fibrinogen is the protein your blood uses to form clots. It also behaves as an inflammation marker: elevated levels mean thicker, more clot-prone blood and are associated with increased cardiovascular risk — because an inflamed vessel wall and clot-ready blood tend to travel together.