Arteriosklerose / Herzinfarkt

Cardiovascular risk panel with 10 biomarkers targeting atherosclerosis and heart attack risk. Covers standard lipids plus advanced markers including homocysteine, Lp(a), sdLDL, CRP, and HbA1c. At €99.39 all-in, a thorough cardiac risk assessment.

The Arteriosklerose / Herzinfarkt panel goes substantially beyond a standard lipid check by including the advanced cardiovascular biomarkers that cardiologists increasingly recognise as essential for accurate risk stratification. Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in Germany, accounting for approximately 35% of all deaths, yet standard lipid panels miss a significant proportion of at-risk individuals. The standard lipid markers — total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides — form the foundation. However, approximately 50% of heart attacks occur in people with normal standard lipid values. This panel addresses that gap with four additional markers that identify residual cardiovascular risk. Lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a) is a genetically determined cardiovascular risk factor that affects approximately 20% of the population. Unlike LDL, Lp(a) is largely unresponsive to diet and standard statin therapy. Elevated Lp(a) approximately doubles cardiovascular risk independently of other factors. Because it is genetically fixed, a single lifetime measurement is usually sufficient. The European Atherosclerosis Society recommends measuring Lp(a) at least once in every adult. Small dense LDL (sdLDL) represents the most atherogenic subfraction of LDL cholesterol. Standard LDL measurement treats all LDL particles equally, but small dense particles are more likely to penetrate the arterial wall, more susceptible to oxidation, and less efficiently cleared by LDL receptors. Two individuals with identical LDL-cholesterol levels can have very different cardiovascular risk depending on their sdLDL proportion. Homocysteine is an amino acid metabolite whose elevation is an independent cardiovascular risk factor. High homocysteine damages vascular endothelium and promotes thrombosis. It is modifiable through B-vitamin supplementation (B6, B12, folate), making it a actionable finding. Levels above 15 µmol/L warrant investigation and treatment. High-sensitivity CRP measures systemic inflammation, which is now recognised as a central driver of atherosclerosis rather than merely a consequence. The JUPITER trial demonstrated that individuals with elevated CRP benefit from statin therapy even when LDL is normal, establishing CRP as an independent treatment-guiding marker. HbA1c captures 3-month average glycaemic control, identifying pre-diabetes and diabetes — both potent accelerators of atherosclerosis. Uric acid rounds out the panel as an emerging cardiovascular risk marker whose association with coronary events, hypertension, and kidney disease is increasingly supported by Mendelian randomisation studies.