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Berkeley Heart Lab, Inc.
Advanced cardiovascular informatics

June 16, 2003

The Cardiac Fingerprint

Half of all acute cardiac patients don’t exhibit traditional warning signs like blood pressure. New tests give a more complex assessment of an individual’s risk. Here’s how:

SIZE MATTERS: It’s not enough to know how much bad cholesterol (LDL) you have; it’s also good to know the size of the cholesterol particles. It’s now possible to count the dangerous small particles that are more likely to stick to artery walls.

DRILLING DOWN: Not all good cholesterol (HDL) is created equal. Standard tests measure HDL as a whole. But a new test singles out “HDL 2B,” which is particularly efficient at cleaning arteries. It’s a more specific indicator of vascular health.

BETTER MEASURES: The fastest test take into account recently identified risk factors, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), which can be a sign of inflammation caused by damaged arteries. Inflammation may magnify other risk factors.