Cholesterol Test (with ApoB)
What is a cholesterol test?
Cholesterol is a fatty substance your body needs to build cells and make hormones. It travels through the blood inside particles called lipoproteins. A standard cholesterol test measures how much cholesterol and triglyceride those particles carry — total cholesterol, LDL ("bad") cholesterol, HDL ("good") cholesterol and triglycerides — and calculates several ratios from them.
Why add ApoB and ApoA1?
A standard test tells you how much cholesterol is being carried. It doesn’t tell you how many particles are carrying it — and it’s the particles themselves that enter artery walls.
Every particle that can contribute to plaque — LDL, VLDL and IDL — carries exactly one ApoB protein. That makes an ApoB result effectively a count of the potentially harmful particles in your blood. Two people with the same LDL cholesterol can have very different ApoB results, because one has fewer, larger particles and the other has many small ones. This mismatch is more common in people with high triglycerides, diabetes, insulin resistance or excess weight around the middle. ApoA1 is the main protein on HDL particles, the ones that help carry cholesterol away from artery walls and back to the liver. The ApoB/ApoA1 ratio sets the two against each other: particles bringing cholesterol in, against particles taking it out.
What's included
Lipids and cholesterol are fat-like substances in your blood. Some are necessary for good health, but when you have a high level of cholesterol in your blood, a lot of it ends up being deposited in the walls of your arteries and other vital organs. Lifestyle choices including diet, exercise and alcohol intake can all influence cholesterol levels and your risk of developing heart disease.
The apo B/apo A1 ratio indicates the cholesterol balance between potentially atherogenic (bad) and anti-atherogenic (good) particles.
Test instructions
The best time to do this test is first thing in the morning.
Fast from all food and drink (other than water) for at least 8 hours, and no more than 12 hours prior to your test.
Download and print your pathology form from your i-screen dashboard.
Take your form to one of our affiliated collection centres to have your sample taken.
Ready. Set. Go!
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Common Questions
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