Assessing coronary heart disease (CHD) event risk remains a challenge in primary prevention. People with low and moderate CHD risk, as measured by traditional testing, actually remain at significant risk of events over 10 years. In fact, nearly 50% of heart attacks in America occur in people with normal LDL levels. When assessing CHD risk, cholesterol testing alone is not enough.
As demonstrated in the large, NIH-sponsored REGARDS (REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke) Study, the PLAC Test for Lp-PLA2 Activity offers risk prediction for people with no prior history of cardiovascular events. The greater the level of Lp-PLA2 enzymatic activity, the greater the risk of fatal and non-fatal CHD events. In fact, the absolute risk of CHD events - myocardial infarction, cardiac revascularization, and cardiac death - is 2.1 times greater in individuals when the PLAC Test for Lp-PLA2 Activity score is high (greater than or equal to 225 nmol/min/mL).