Note to Reader:

This compelling transformation represents a real-life patient success story: a 49-year-old woman who graciously allowed the HealthieOne medical team to share her anonymous health journey to help others understand the power of comprehensive health testing: https://healthieone.com/case-studies/lipoprotein-the-invisible-killer/.

What makes this case extraordinary isn't just the dramatic improvement, it's what was discovered through HealthieOne Complete's comprehensive testing that would have been completely missed by standard annual blood work. While typical annual physicals test only a handful of basic markers, HealthieOne Complete analyzes 270+ biomarkers across multiple health domains, including advanced lipid profiling, antioxidant levels, neurological health, hormonal panels, nutritional assessments, resilience and longevity markers, and cutting-edge cardiovascular risk factors.

The trend graph displays three critical data points:

• September 6, 2024: Basic annual blood test from Mercy Hospital
• June 9, 2025: First HealthieOne Complete results, revealing hidden cardiovascular risks that standard testing would never detect (doctor-interpreted results shown below)
• September 9, 2025: Results demonstrating remarkable outcomes after just three months of targeted treatment prescribed by her cardiologist:
  • Rosuvastatin 5 mg daily (Crestor)
  • Aspirin 81 mg daily
  • Repatha 140 mg subcutaneous injections every 14 days

This is the difference between knowing your basic health status and truly understanding your complete health picture. Her story illustrates why comprehensive testing saves lives, and why settling for basic annual blood work may leave the most important health insights undiscovered.

Summary Interpretation:

Thank you for choosing HealthieOne for your annual health assessment.

Your 270+ biomarker results deliver detailed insights into your current health status. Share this personalized, in-depth report with your healthcare provider to identify optimization opportunities and make informed decisions about your wellness journey.

Your results show elevated LDL cholesterol together with a notably elevated lipoprotein(a), a combination that is especially important given your family history of heart disease and hypertension. LDL is the cholesterol carried in particles that can build up in the walls of your arteries over time. Your LDL was also elevated on your previous laboratory testing from September 2024, when it measured 129 mg/dL, so this reflects a persistent pattern rather than a one-time reading. Your total cholesterol, which was 212 mg/dL at that time, now sits right at the upper edge of the normal range, a modest improvement but still worth continued attention. Your non-HDL cholesterol is slightly elevated and your apolipoprotein B is at the upper end of its normal range, and together these point toward a higher number of cholesterol-carrying particles in circulation, which is the aspect of a lipid profile most closely tied to cardiovascular risk. Your lipoprotein(a) level is significantly elevated, representing a genetic cardiovascular risk factor that is largely unaffected by diet or lifestyle, and when it is this high it adds meaningfully to long-term cardiovascular risk on top of your LDL. Because your lipoprotein(a) is elevated, the preferred LDL target for you is even lower than the usual cutoff, and your current LDL is above that goal, so continuing to bring it down is worthwhile. Your post-menopausal status can shift cholesterol metabolism in a less favorable direction, and your largely seated workday with exercise only a few times per week, and high stress levels can each contribute as well. While your HDL cholesterol and triglycerides remain healthy, and your inflammatory marker C-reactive protein is optimally low, the LDL and non-HDL elevations suggest your body may be producing excess cholesterol or not clearing it efficiently.

Your trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), is elevated. TMAO is produced by your gut bacteria when they process certain nutrients from your food, and higher levels have been associated with increased cardiovascular risk, which makes this finding relevant alongside the cholesterol and lipoprotein(a) results discussed above. Fish and seafood are among the more direct dietary sources of TMAO, so your pescatarian diet is a likely contributor here. This does not mean fish is harmful for you, as it also provides valuable heart-healthy nutrients, but it does help explain the elevation and points toward balancing your protein sources. Reassuringly, your kidney function, reflected by your estimated glomerular filtration rate, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen, is normal, which is important because TMAO is cleared by the kidneys, so this elevation is not the result of reduced clearance.

Your iron saturation is elevated, and your unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC) is correspondingly low. Iron saturation reflects the proportion of your transferrin, the protein that carries iron through your bloodstream, that is currently occupied by iron, while UIBC is simply the capacity that remains unoccupied, so these two results describe the same finding from opposite directions. Your serum iron sits in the upper portion of its normal range at 148 ug/dL and your transferrin sits at the lower end of its range at 196 mg/dL, and together those two account for the high saturation. Reassuringly, your ferritin, which reflects your stored iron rather than what happens to be circulating at the moment, is comfortably within range at 139.4 ng/mL, making substantial iron overload less likely, although a normal ferritin does not completely exclude early iron accumulation because transferrin saturation can become elevated before ferritin rises. Your liver markers, including ALT, AST, GGT, and bilirubin, are also normal, which is reassuring because the liver is where excess iron tends to deposit first. You noted that you take vitamins, and many multivitamins and combination supplements contain iron, so a dose taken in the days before your blood draw can raise serum iron and saturation temporarily. Serum iron also varies naturally across the day, running higher in the morning. Your pescatarian diet argues against dietary loading as the main driver, since it excludes the red meat that supplies the most readily absorbed iron. Being post-menopausal is relevant as well, because the monthly iron losses that kept levels lower earlier in life have stopped, so iron is now retained more readily. An isolated elevation is most often explained by these factors, but if the same pattern appears again on repeat testing it can reflect a genuine tendency to absorb more iron than the body needs, which occurs with genetic variants such as those associated with hereditary hemochromatosis, and that is worth clarifying rather than assuming.

Recommendations: Discuss the following along with all the above findings with your healthcare providers for further guidance:

Cardiovascular risk assessment and considerations

• A coronary artery calcium (CAC) scan can help clarify your risk level and guide preventive therapy decisions, which is particularly useful given your elevated LDL cholesterol, your notably elevated lipoprotein(a), and your family history of heart disease.
• Consider exercise stress echocardiography if you experience chest pain, shortness of breath on exertion, an abnormal ECG, or unexplained exercise intolerance.
• Because both your LDL cholesterol and your lipoprotein(a) are elevated, discuss with your physician whether a PCSK9 inhibitor such as evolocumab (Repatha) is warranted, as this class of medication can lower LDL cholesterol substantially and can also reduce lipoprotein(a).
• Discuss as well whether starting or intensifying LDL-lowering therapy is appropriate to reach the lower LDL target that your elevated lipoprotein(a) calls for.
• Discuss with your physician whether low dose aspirin is appropriate for you, as it can help reduce the risk of blood clots that contribute to heart attacks and strokes; this decision should be weighed against bleeding risk in your specific case.

Dietary and supplement considerations

• Emphasize a heart-healthy, plant-forward eating pattern rich in soluble fiber from foods such as oats, beans, lentils, fruits, and vegetables, and favor healthy fats from olive oil, nuts, and seeds while limiting refined carbohydrates and saturated fat
• Because your diet is pescatarian, continue to include fish for its nutritional benefits, but balance it with more plant-based proteins such as legumes, tofu, and other soy foods, which can help moderate your TMAO level while supporting cholesterol control.
• Alternate fish meals with plant-based protein sources like legumes and quinoa.
• Support healthy gut bacteria through probiotic-rich foods like yogurt, kefir, and fermented vegetables.
• Review your vitamins and supplements with your physician to identify and quantify any iron content, and consider pausing supplemental iron before repeat testing so the contribution of intake can be separated from the underlying pattern. 

Physical activity and stress management

• Building on your current routine of exercising a few times per week, gradually increasing the frequency of physical activity and reducing extended periods of sitting during your workday can support both cholesterol control and overall cardiovascular health.
• Given your high stress levels, incorporating specific stress-reduction techniques such as yoga, mindfulness meditation, daily breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, time outdoors, and prioritizing sleep can be helpful, and these can be paired with your existing activity habits.
• Increase physical activity to counteract your sedentary work environment

Kidney health monitoring

• Given your history of surgically corrected congenital ureteropelvic junction obstruction, ensure ongoing periodic monitoring of your kidney function with creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, and where possible avoid nephrotoxic agents such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, as maintaining long-term kidney health is important. Your kidney markers are currently normal, which is reassuring.

Metabolic monitoring

• Given your family history of diabetes, it is worthwhile to monitor your blood sugar over time by rechecking fasting glucose and 1,5-anhydroglucitol, a marker of recent glucose spikes. Both are currently normal, along with your hemoglobin A1c, which is reassuring against current blood sugar problems.

Follow-up testing

• Recheck lipid panel including cholesterol LDL and Non-HDL, hormone panel, and TMAO in 3 to 6 months after implementing any dietary and medication modifications to assess your response.
• Recheck iron studies including serum iron, ferritin, transferrin, iron binding capacity, and iron saturation in 3 months, ideally on a morning fasting sample, to determine whether the elevated saturation persists.
• Lipoprotein(a) does not need to be retested as it is genetically determined and typically remains stable, unless you begin medications that may affect it

The HealthieOne Follow-up test will include all the recommended follow-up blood tests mentioned above along with 170+ markers, offering personalized retesting of your abnormal markers from your HealthieOne Complete test and efficiently tracking your progress.

Your biological age is 44, which is younger than your chronological age of 49.

After reviewing your test results, we encourage you to take advantage of our ongoing health support. Our HealthieOne doctors are available through our secure live 1:1 written consultation to answer any questions you may have, and collaborate with you and your healthcare providers to optimize your health based on your unique profile.

We've designed our comprehensive test specifically to connect the dots linking your health background, biochemistry, and lifestyle factors to uncover the deeper causes of health issues. Our reports are intentionally crafted to be both thorough and accessible, making it easier for you and your healthcare team to collaborate effectively. This holistic approach transforms isolated data points into actionable insights that support your long-term health journey. 

Warmly,
The HealthieOne Team