We want you to be living your best life, with no fear of death. The way to do this is to really get to know your body, to understand the risks, and let the latest scientific innovations help keep you free to focus on loving every minute of your life.
The Death Panel does exactly that. We check every fundamental aspect of your health using both classical and highly advanced medical technology to give you a true insight into your body and help you take the steps needed to make sure you’re living life to the max.
This is what the test will measure:
The Cholesterol Panel checks lipid and cholesterol levels to show your total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides. Knowing your numbers and taking steps to optimize your cholesterol and lipid levels is a great way to help reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease.
ApoB. This cutting-edge way to assess for potentially life-threatening athersclerotic disease works by measuring the amount of apolipoprotein B in your blood. This is the main protein found in the low-density lipoproteins, LDL. LDL is known as ‘bad’ cholesterol because high levels of it can damage your heart and arteries. Assessing your ApoB levels provides a more in-depth cholesterol reading, which helps with risk prediction and early detection.
Lp (a)
Lipoproteins are a type of protein that transports cholesterol in the blood. There are two main types of lipoprotein: high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, which is often referred to as the ‘good’ cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) which is called the ‘bad’ cholesterol.
The body needs a certain amount of cholesterol to function well. Cholesterol is necessary for the maintenance of cell structure and the production of steroid hormones. High levels of HDL cholesterol may even help decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease. But Lp(a) is a risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease because high levels of LDL cholesterol can cause atherosclerosis; a build-up of fatty deposits in the blood vessels, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Also, apolipoprotein(a), a protein that makes up part of Lp(a), can prevent enzymes from dissolving blood clots, so it may increase the risk of clots forming in the arteries.
Heart Inflammation Assessment
hs-CRP
High-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) is one of the biomarker screens used to detect chronic inflammation. When inflammation becomes chronic, it leads to changes in your blood vessels making them more permeable to fat and cholesterol and leading to the formation of plaque on the blood vessel walls. Chronic inflammation can cause a thickening of the arteries and heart attacks, and elevated levels of CRP are associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
Studies have shown correlations between elevated hs-CRP and increased risk of future heart attacks, ischemic stroke, and peripheral arterial disease. Overweight, obese, insulin-resistant, and diabetic individuals typically have elevated hs-CRP levels; elevations in hs-CRP levels have also been found to predict the development of diabetes. Lifestyle changes such as aerobic exercise, weight loss, and smoking cessation lower hs-CRP levels.
Homocysteine
A homocysteine test measures the amount of the amino acid, homocysteine, present in a sample of your blood.
Our homocysteine levels normally stay low because your body uses vitamins B12, B6, and folate to quickly break down homocysteine and change it into other substances that your body needs. High levels of homocysteine in your blood may be a sign that this process isn't working properly or that you're lacking certain B vitamins.
High levels of homocysteine may damage the lining of your arteries (blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood throughout your body). High levels of homocysteine can also lead to blood clots or blood vessel blockages.
Vitamin D
Most people are familiar with vitamin D’s role in helping the body absorb calcium from the diet. Vitamin D has many important roles in the body, including bone formation and maintenance and recently, research has shown that vitamin D is important in protecting the body from a wide range of diseases such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It is widely thought that vitamin D also plays an important role in the modulation of the inflammation system by regulating the production of inflammatory proteins and immune cells, which are crucial for the development of many immune-related diseases. Recent evidence suggests that low vitamin D concentrations are associated with increased levels of inflammatory markers.
Assessing the body’s metabolic fitness (its capability to utilize the energy it creates) provides a clear indicator of whether or not diabetes might be a future issue. Abnormalities in cellular glucose metabolism can be detected in blood work more than a decade before one develops diabetes. Identifying early changes in glucose metabolism can help avoid the dangerous metabolic path towards diabetes.
The A1C test
The A1C test is sometimes called the hemoglobin A1C, or HbA1c. Hemoglobin is the part of a red blood cell that carries oxygen to the cells. Glucose attaches to or binds with hemoglobin in your blood cells, and the A1C test is based on this attachment of glucose to hemoglobin.
The higher the glucose level in your bloodstream, the more glucose will attach to the hemoglobin. The A1C test measures the amount of hemoglobin with attached glucose and reflects your average blood glucose levels over the past 3 months.
The A1C test result is reported as a percentage. The higher the percentage, the higher your blood glucose levels have been.
Fasting Insulin
Insulin is a hormone that helps blood sugar, known as glucose, move from your bloodstream into your cells where it provides the body’s main source of energy. Insulin plays a key role in keeping glucose at the right levels. If glucose levels are too high or too low, they can cause serious health problems. An insulin in blood test is most commonly used to diagnose and monitor diabetes or investigate the cause of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
Glucose
Blood sugar, or glucose, is the main sugar found in your blood. It comes from the food you eat, and is your body's main source of energy. Your blood carries glucose to all of your body's cells to use for energy and, what it doesn’t need, it stores in the liver and muscles.