Heart Disease: Is This Protein Test a Better Predictor of Risk Than Cholesterol Levels?

• Testing for a type of protein may be a better measure for heart disease risk than cholesterol tests.
• It’s widely known that LDL cholesterol — aka bad cholesterol — can cause atherosclerosis, or plaque buildup in the arteries.
• But now new research finds that testing for apolipoprotein B-100 (ApoB) that attaches to LDL cholesterol may better predict whether or not you’re heart healthy.

A blood test for a certain protein may do a better job at detecting heart disease than only measuring cholesterol levels, according to an analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The test measures levels of apolipoprotein B-100 (ApoB). This protein attaches to disease-promoting cholesterol or LDL cholesterol.

HDL cholesterol or good cholesterol does not carry the protein.

It’s widely known that LDL cholesterol — aka bad cholesterol — can cause atherosclerosis or plaque buildup in the arteries. A common test for LDL cholesterol levels can measure the mass of this “bad” cholesterol in the body, but the protein test will actually get the results for the number of particles.

According to the findings, the test can be used to identify more patients at risk for heart disease, especially those whose cholesterol levels appear normal.

“This study highlights an important tool that could potentially help us keep patients out of the hospital for cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes while in addition helping to lower the overall incidence of atherosclerotic heart disease,” says Wafi Momin, DO, cardiologist with UTHealth Houston Heart & Vascular and Memorial Hermann