Episode 6

We’re entering a new era of heart health where the "standard" lipid panel is no longer the definitive gold standard.

The 2026 cholesterol guidelines now recommend universal testing for kids as young as nine and specific LDL targets that redefines what it means to have high cholesterol.

For many, the guidance advises biomarker screening including Lp(a), ApoB, and hs-CRP. They even provide an online calculator to estimate your 30-year risk of heart disease, shifting the focus from short-term fixes to lifelong prevention.

And this is a big deal because high cholesterol is one of the leading causes of heart attack and stroke. But here’s the thing, it doesn’t have to be this way. 

There are steps you can take right now to improve your cholesterol and lower your risk of cardiac badness but there’s a problem - there's a widening gap between what the research shows and what people know.

I’m Dr. David Zodda, a board-certified physician specializing in knowledge translation and my mission is to close that gap.

I translate the latest research into clear, practical strategies that you can start using today to improve your health and get you feeling your very best. 

In Act One of today's podcast, I distill the new 130-page cholesterol guideline into clear information you can actually use. We’ll cover what cholesterol is, how it functions in the body, and how often you should get it checked.

I’m going to give you a tool to estimate your future risk for heart attack and we’ll explore the new kids on the block Lp(a), ApoB, and hs-CRP. We’ll dive into why these biomarkers are essential, how often they should be tested, and what they reveal about your future health.

Act Two, it’s all about prevention. We’ll look at the role diet, exercise, and stress have on our cholesterol and wrap things up with a few practical strategies you can start using today to get your cholesterol right where it needs to be.

Whether you’re looking for ways to lower your cholesterol or if your numbers are good you simply want to keep ‘em that way, today’s episode is for you. 


Resources: 

Free Online PREVENT Calculator (use ASCVD calculator for 10-30 year risk of ASCVD): https://professional.heart.org/en/guidelines-and-statements/prevent-calculator