Understanding cholesterol and your cardiovascular health 
Cholesterol results are more than just numbers. Two people can have the same LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), yet have different numbers of cholesterol-carrying particles, and therefore different cardiovascular risk. ApoB helps estimate the number of atherogenic particles that can enter and become retained in the artery wall, while lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), identifies an important largerly inherited source of risk. Lowering LDL-C and ApoB reduces the lifetime exposure of your arteries to these particles and is an important part of preventing atherosclerosis, heart attack and stroke. Diet and lifestyle remain essential, but even a carefully designed cholesterol-lowering diet typically produces a much smaller reduction in LDL-C than modern lipid-lowering medicines. For many people, particularly those at higher cardiovascular risk, diet alone will therefore not achieve the cholesterol reduction needed.

Explore our cholesterol resources
Our patient resources explain LDL-C, ApoB and Lp(a), why the same LDL-C can represent different risk, and how diet and lipid-lowering treatments can change cholesterol levels.