Cardiovascular
16 markers in this category
ApoA1 (Apolipoprotein A1)
ApoA1 reflects HDL function, which supports cholesterol clearance during the metabolic demands of intense training. A key marker for active individuals monitoring cardiovascular health.
ApoB (Apolipoprotein B)
ApoB provides the most accurate atherogenic particle count for active individuals concerned about long-term cardiovascular health alongside performance.
CK-MB
CK-MB helps distinguish heart-related enzyme elevations from skeletal muscle damage during intense training. It supports cardiovascular safety monitoring for active individuals.
Cholesterol/HDL Ratio
The cholesterol/HDL ratio is your total cholesterol divided by your HDL. Exercise tends to raise HDL, which lowers the ratio. A lower ratio points to a more favourable profile and a lower cardiovascular risk.
HDL Cholesterol
HDL cholesterol is one of the few blood values that training genuinely moves, and that is exactly why it gets misused. Endurance training raises HDL, but slowly and in small steps. Androgenic agents lower HDL dramatically, often by half, while LDL climbs at the same time. Alcohol raises the value without making anything about you healthier. So HDL is not a performance metric and not a target to train towards. It is a readout of your metabolic state, and it only means something alongside your triglycerides, your LDL and your ApoB. This page explains what your HDL does and does not say in a sports context, and why higher is not automatically better.
LDL Cholesterol
LDL cholesterol is the blood value that confuses athletes most. You train hard, you eat to plan, and your LDL goes up anyway. That is rarely a measurement error. A high-fat, low-carbohydrate way of eating raises LDL substantially in a proportion of people, and the rise tends to be largest in exactly the lean, well-trained ones. At the same time, your report usually carries no measured LDL at all, but one calculated from your total cholesterol, your HDL and your triglycerides. This page explains when that calculation goes wrong, why the 3.0 mmol/l line is not a goal, and what to track alongside that single number.
LDL/HDL Ratio
The LDL/HDL ratio is your LDL cholesterol divided by your HDL. For anyone who measures their health seriously, this is probably the weakest number on the entire lipid report. No guideline sets a target for it, the number is calculated from an LDL that is itself already calculated, and VLDL and remnant particles do not count towards it. On top of that, endurance training flatters the ratio: HDL rises slightly, the ratio falls, and the amount of harmful cholesterol stays exactly the same. There is one situation in which the number does add something, namely androgen use, because both halves then move the wrong way at once. If you want to steer by something that counts, look at non-HDL cholesterol and ApoB.
Lipoprotein(a)
Lp(a) is the one number on your panel that you cannot improve through training. It is an LDL-like particle with an extra protein attached, and its level is more than 90 percent written into your DNA. A training block, a cut or a clean diet will not shift this value to any meaningful degree. That is precisely why you measure Lp(a) once and then know it. A raised value is not a failure and not a project. It is the reason your other targets tighten: your ApoB, your non-HDL, your blood pressure and your insulin sensitivity get less room than they would in someone without this predisposition.
NT-proBNP
NT-proBNP can rise after intense endurance exercise. For active individuals, monitoring helps distinguish normal training responses from clinically significant cardiac stress.
Non-HDL Cholesterol
Non-HDL cholesterol is the lipid number least distorted by your own behaviour. It is your total cholesterol minus your HDL, and therefore the cholesterol inside every particle that can lodge in an artery wall. Where a calculated LDL swings with your triglycerides, and thus with what you ate last night and how hard you trained the day before, non-HDL holds still. No formula is involved and no fasting is needed. That makes it the one lipid value you can compare honestly across an entire season. The 3.3 mmol/l on your report, incidentally, is a population reference value and not a goal.
Omega 3 + 6
The omega-3/omega-6 ratio affects inflammation and recovery. Active individuals can use this marker to optimise anti-inflammatory nutrition for faster recovery and joint protection.
Omega-3 Index
The Omega-3 Index provides a long-term view of omega-3 status, which affects inflammation, recovery, and cardiovascular health for active individuals. A key marker for performance nutrition.
Oxidized LDL
oxLDL reflects oxidative stress on lipoproteins. Active individuals benefit from monitoring this as intense training increases oxidative load on the cardiovascular system.
Total Cholesterol
Total cholesterol is a starting point for lipid assessment. Active individuals should look at the full panel including HDL, LDL, and triglycerides for complete cardiovascular insight.
Triglycerides
Triglycerides are used as fuel during exercise. Monitoring helps active individuals understand fat metabolism efficiency and metabolic health alongside performance.
Troponin T (Cardiac)
Troponin T can rise transiently after intense endurance exercise. Active individuals should be aware of this marker to distinguish training effects from cardiac concerns.