Cardiologist with 16+ years of experience shares 5 heart tests every adult should know to reduce cardiac disease risk

Heart disease often develops silently. Cardiologist Dr Jack Wolfson shares 5 key tests to help assess your risk of heart attack and stroke before it’s too late.

Heart disease remains one of the leading health concerns worldwide, often developing silently without obvious symptoms. Regular check-ups and timely assessments can make all the difference. Dr Jack Wolfson – a cardiologist from Arizona in the US, having more than 16 years of experience – shares in his November 5 Instagram post five essential tests to assess your risk of heart attack and stroke.

Check out Dr Wolfson's 5 essential tests to assess heart attack and stroke risk. (Freepik)

"Let's talk about five tests I would do to assess cardiac risk, like the risk of heart attack and stroke, aside from doing a coronary artery calcium scan," says Dr Wolfson. "I call it the calcium scan because it involves radiation and does not give you information that you can track over time to see improvement. When there's improvement, you have lower risk of heart attack and stroke. Here's the five."

1. HS-CRP (High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein)

"This is a marker of inflammation," explains Dr Wolfson. "When you have inflammation, you have risk. Find the root cause of inflammation, and you'll lower the risk."

2. Oxidised LDL / Oxidative Stress Test

"We actually offer a urine test in our office," he says. "It's a home test kit, and I'll tell you at the end of the video how you can get that." Oxidative stress can damage blood vessels and increase cardiac risk, making this test a useful metric to track improvement over time.

3. Lp(a) Test

"Check Lp(a). Lp(a) is a genetic lipid particle," Dr Wolfson notes. "When elevated, it increases your risk, but there are ways to modify it without pharmaceuticals."

4. Homocysteine Test

"Homocysteine is a way to assess your B-vitamin status and methylation pathways, which include making hormones, glutathione, and neurotransmitters," he explains. "It's a sign that there's a B-vitamin issue. We improve this with our Kickstart My Heart Bison Organ Complex, which has the perfect form of B vitamins in the perfect ratios."

5. Omega-3 Fatty Acid Test

"Check your omega-3 fatty acid status. The highest levels, lowest risk," Dr. Wolfson emphasises. "You don't need a coronary CT scan. You don't need to radiate yourself. Doctors often do that because it leads to stress tests and other procedures you don't need, and then they'll try to start you on statins or injectable pharmaceuticals that can make you sicker."

Dr Wolfson stresses that these tests allow patients to track improvement over time as they address root causes through nutrition, lifestyle changes, and mindset shifts. "We use these tests to assess our status as we improve root cause, so as we're improving nutrition and lifestyle and mindset. Then the metrics that we look at are the metrics of the blood and urine tests."

Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.

This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.