Got my second blood results from @rythm As predicted by @RobbyWade6 my ApoB lowered by about 30% from 123 mg/dl to 86 mg/dl. As a reminder, @PeterAttiaMD says that ApoB is causally related to increased risk of heart disease / atherosclerosis, so it's something we should all pay attention to. My issue was that I had recently done a 3 day fast and then did my blood draw, so there was a massive fat flood in my system, triggering elevated triglycerides, LDL, and ApoB. So for now, now CAC scan, but I might get a carotid artery scan at some point. The other leading indicator is LP(a) which is 100% genetic and you only need to get it done once. I ordered the test through @rythm and got it done. Turns out I am on the extreme low end (which is fantastic, lower the better). So no statins or PCSK9 inhibitors for me right now. That said, I did eat much less salt, less sat fat, and a more fiber which probably contributed. This is why monthly blood testing is important - you can monitor things in real time, and get more accurate readings over the course of many months rather than once or twice per year.

After I got my first blood draw with @rythm, I became interested in ApoB and Lp(a) (pronounced El-pee little a) These two proteins are the leading causes for ASCVD (aka heart disease). If you're over 25, it's worth getting regular blood tests. Highly recommend looking at your ApoB and Lp(a) numbers to determine how "safe" or how aggressive you might need to be in mitigating heart disease. I just really don't want a heart attack. 50% of heart attacks happen before age 65. And 50% of heart attacks end in death. My ApoB number was in the 80th percentile, really high: 123mg/L (healthy range is under 80). Good news is that with diet and lifestyle you can bring down your ApoB number by quite a lot. But if I cannot bring it down under 80-100 then I may need pharmacological treatment. The other protein Lp(a) is 100% genetic and diet & lifestyle have little to no effect of reducing this number. If both your ApoB and Lp(a) are high, then you should be seriously concerned. I took another blood test for Lp(a). 0-75nmo/L is considered low risk, 75-150 is medium risk, and 150+ is high risk. I'm 32.2nmo/L which is on the low end of low risk! This is excellent news. So now, I am going to monitor my ApoB on a monthly basis and see how much of a dent I can put into this number. (I also think the original reading might have been slightly elevated because of a recent 60 hour fast I had done a couple days before). Wish me luck & I'll report more findings soon.

Got my first blood results from @rythm: I have high apoB (apolipoprotein B) which @PeterAttiaMD says is causally related to increased risk of heart disease / atherosclerosis. Meaning, the higher the apoB number, the faster plaque buildup and calcification happens in your arteries. His analogy is similar to smoking: we don't tell smokers to keep smoking, and only until they do enough "damage"/risk, do we tell them to stop. No, we tell them to stop now, so the damage doesn't progress. Same goes for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death globally. Need some help here... anyone here else get a CAC scan? I'm going to get one soon. (Also getting an LP(a) test to figure out how "genetic" it is.) Depending on the results, I think it will determine how aggressive I should be with getting my apoB down. Peter recommends getting this number down as low as humanly possible, especially if you're at increased risk (genetics). From my research, it seems that you can "reverse" damage done at or below 60-70mg/l. I don't want to be on statins. That said, Peter does recommend taking a PCSK9 inhibitor to get this number down even lower, like 30mg/l. Will continue to investigate & report back. Open to any and all opinions, data, feedback. Thx!

Got my first blood sample for @rythm Thanks for the rec @anothercohen Great UX, excited for my results in a few days