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- Oct 13, 2010
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- 10,803
I notice my doc included direct LDL in my next scheduled blood tests for the first time, without explanation. I have pretty good lipid numbers, so probably he has decided on this as standard procedure for all his patients now.
forza's post mentions some tests that shed light on risk. Some of them are pretty cheap. Calcium score goes on sale once a year here for $99. If you're, say, 55+ and come out with a zero, that's good (a younger person's zero is not meaningful since it takes a while for plaque to calcify). I don't know why someone would not have LP(a), ApoB, homocysteine, and LipoScience NMR, calcium score, and CIMT tests if you were concerned about CV health. You might as well have the whole picture as best the technology can produce if it doesn't cost too much. My PCP did some of these over the span of a few years, and I did some of my own blood tests. A knee jerk doctor might look at my calculated LDL-C and whip out the prescription pad, but with this other information it's obvious that I'm very low risk for CV and the side effects of a statin are nowhere near justified.