Cardiovascular Testing

American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association guideline recommendations^2,3 include:

• Estimate 10-year risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD)²
• Due to inherent limitations of risk estimation tools in individual patients, consider the risk-enhancing factors below, which align with those set forth in the 2019 ACC/ACOG Advisory, for adults 40 to 75 years with borderline- (5% to < 7.5%) or intermediate- (≥ 7.5% to < 20%) risk²
  • History of premature menopause (< 40 years) and history of pregnancy-associated conditions that increase later risk, including:^2,3
    • Pre-eclampsia
    • Eclampsia
    • Gestational hypertension
    • Gestational diabetes
    • Pre-term delivery
    • Low birthweight for gestational age
    • Polycystic ovary disease
    • Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea
  • Reproductive hormones including oral contraceptives and hormone replacement³
  • Breast cancer³
  • Chronic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and scleroderma²
• Family history of premature ASCVD (< 65 years)²
• Primary hypercholesterolemia (LDL-C, 160-189 mg/dL; non-HDL-C, 190-219 mg/dL)*²
• Metabolic syndrome - a total of 3 of the following is diagnostic²
  • Increased waist circumference (by ethnically appropriate cutpoints);
  • Elevated triglycerides (≥150 mg/dL, non-fasting)
  • Low HDL-C (< 50 mg/dL)
  • Elevated glucose
  • Elevated blood pressure
  • Chronic kidney disease (eGFR 15-59 mL/min/1.73 m2 with or without albuminuria; not treated with dialysis or kidney transplantation}²
  • High risk race or ethnicity (e.g. South Asian ancestry)²
  • Lipids and biomarkers (associated with increased ASCVD risk)²
    • Persistently elevated triglycerides (≥ 175 mg/dL, non-fasting)
    • Elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (≥ 2.0 mg/L)
    • Elevated Lipoprotein(a) – ≥ 125 nmol/L constitutes risk-enhancing factor; relative indication for measurement is family history of premature ASCVD
    • Elevated Apolipoprotein B (≥ 130 mg/dL, corresponding to LDL-C > 160 mg/dL) constitutes risk-enhancing factor; relative indication for measurement is triglyceride ≥ 200 mg/dL (≥ 130 mg/dL)

Women with a medical history of pre-eclampsia who gave birth preterm (less than 37 0/7 weeks of gestation) or who have a medical history of recurrent preeclampsia, are recommended by ACOG to have a yearly assessment of blood pressure, lipids, fasting blood glucose, and body mass index.⁴

Labcorp offers a wide range of cardiovascular testing options.