Overview

• A study of over 200,000 UK Biobank participants demonstrates that apolipoprotein B (apoB) is the most accurate marker for predicting heart disease risk.
• Standard cholesterol tests may underestimate cardiovascular risk in about one in twelve patients, leading to potentially fatal outcomes.
• The inclusion of lipoprotein(a) testing complements apoB measurements, providing a fuller picture of lipid-related cardiovascular risk.
• The blood tests for both apoB and lipoprotein(a) are commercially available, inexpensive, and easy to implement in clinical settings.
• The findings, published in the European Heart Journal, stem from a collaboration between Chalmers University in Sweden and Harvard University in the U.S.