Preval HealthGuides
Learn about your cardiovascular risk.
Straightforward, evidence-based guides on cholesterol, heart disease prevention, and the treatments available today.
High ApoB: What It Means and How to Lower It
What counts as a high ApoB, what causes it, why it can run high when LDL looks normal, and how food and medicine lower it.
Read guideLDL of 130 mg/dL: Is It High, and What Should You Do?
LDL of 130 mg/dL (3.4 mmol/L) is borderline high. How far it sits from your goal, what changes it, and what to do next, from food to medicine.
Read guideLDL of 160 mg/dL: What It Means and What to Do
LDL of 160 mg/dL (4.1 mmol/L) is high. The drop you need, why diet alone rarely gets there, causes to rule out, and the medicines that do.
Read guideLDL of 190 mg/dL or Higher: What to Do Next
LDL of 190 mg/dL (4.9 mmol/L) or higher is severe hypercholesterolemia. Why treatment starts at this level, how familial hypercholesterolemia fits, and the medicines that get you to goal.
Read guideWhere to Start With Longevity: Begin With Your Heart
Where to start if you want more healthy years: why the heart comes first, the few numbers worth knowing, what to do this month, and where lab panels and clinics fit.
Read guideAdvanced Lipid Panel: Tests, Cost, Coverage
What an advanced lipid panel (Cardio IQ, NMR LipoProfile) tests, which markers matter most (ApoB and Lp(a)), what it costs, and when it's worth getting.
Read guideAlternatives to Statins: Your Options Compared
Alternatives to statins compared: ezetimibe, bempedoic acid, PCSK9 inhibitors like Lipfendra and Lerochol, inclisiran, supplements, and confirming intolerance.
Read guideHow to Get an ApoB and Lp(a) Test
How to get an ApoB test or Lp(a) blood test: what to ask your clinician, self-pay lab prices, insurance coverage, fasting, and what to do with a high result.
Read guideNexletol (Bempedoic Acid): How It Works, Dose, Side Effects
Nexletol (bempedoic acid) lowers LDL about 17 to 21% and cut cardiovascular events 13% in CLEAR Outcomes. See how it works, dosing, side effects, and cost.
Read guideCholesterol Shots: 4 Options, Every 2 Weeks to Twice a Year
Shots for high cholesterol compared: Repatha, Praluent, Lerochol, and Leqvio. See dosing schedules, 50 to 60% LDL lowering, side effects, and cash prices.
Read guideEzetimibe (Zetia): Uses, Side Effects, Cost
Ezetimibe (Zetia) explained: how it lowers LDL alone and with a statin, IMPROVE-IT outcomes, side effects from the label, generic cost, and who it suits.
Read guideFamily History of Heart Disease: What to Do
A family history of heart disease can double your risk. What counts as premature, why risk calculators miss it, which tests to ask for, and a clear plan.
Read guideHow to Lower LDL Cholesterol: What Works
How to lower LDL cholesterol: how much diet, fiber, plant sterols, exercise, and weight loss help, how fast medicines work, and the 2026 LDL goals by risk.
Read guideNew Cholesterol Drugs 2026: Pill, Monthly and Twice-Yearly Shots
Three new or expanded cholesterol drugs in 2026: Lipfendra (first PCSK9 pill), monthly Lerochol, and Leqvio without a statin. Plus what is still in trials.
Read guidePraluent (Alirocumab): Dosing, Cost, Safety
Praluent (alirocumab) guide: dosing, LDL lowering, ODYSSEY OUTCOMES, side effects, the $225 cash price as of October 2026, and Praluent vs Repatha.
Read guideRepatha Alternatives: 6 Options Compared by LDL Drop and Cost
Repatha alternatives include Praluent, Leqvio, the Lipfendra pill, Lerochol, bempedoic acid and ezetimibe. Compare LDL drop, cost and dosing.
Read guideRepatha Side Effects: Common Ones Run Close to Placebo Rates
Repatha side effects from the label and FOURIER: colds, flu, back pain and injection-site reactions, plus what trials found on memory, diabetes and latex.
Read guidePharmacogenomic Testing for Statins: SLCO1B1
Pharmacogenomic testing for statins: what SLCO1B1, ABCG2, and CYP2C9 results mean for muscle side effects, what CPIC advises, and who benefits from it.
Read guideLipidologist: What They Do, Who Needs One, How to Find One
A lipidologist is a cholesterol specialist. See what lipid specialists treat, how they differ from cardiologists, when to see one, and how to find one.
Read guideWhy Lipid Management Is a Specialty
Why lipid management is a specialty: more than a dozen cholesterol drugs, combinations, LDL and ApoB goals, statin intolerance, genetics, and insurance rules.
Read guideCAC Score: What Your Calcium Score Means
What a coronary artery calcium (CAC) score means: how to read your number by age, what a zero score tells you, what a high score changes, and who needs one.
Read guideLp(a) Drugs 2026: When Will They Be Available? Status Update
No Lp(a) drug is FDA-approved yet. See where pelacarsen, olpasiran, lepodisiran, muvalaplin, zerlasiran, and obicetrapib stand, and what to do now.
Read guideFamilial Hypercholesterolemia: Causes and Care
Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH): the genes behind it, how it is inherited and diagnosed, signs like an LDL of 190 or higher, and how it is treated.
Read guideHow to Lower ApoB: What Works and How Much
How to lower ApoB: what diet, fiber, weight loss, and exercise do, how much statins, ezetimibe, and PCSK9 inhibitors lower it, and ApoB goals by risk.
Read guideIs High Cholesterol Genetic? FH and Lp(a)
Is high cholesterol genetic? Often, yes. How FH, polygenic high cholesterol, and Lp(a) are inherited, which tests tell you, and how it changes treatment.
Read guideLeqvio Cost, Dosing, and LDL Results: Twice-a-Year Shot
Leqvio (inclisiran) lowers LDL about 50% with two shots a year. See the $3,587.73 list price per dose, how coverage works, and how it compares to Repatha.
Read guideRepatha Cost 2026: $239 Cash, $573 List, From $5 With Copay
Repatha costs $572.70 a month at list price, $239 cash through AmgenNow, or as little as $5 a fill with a copay card. See Medicare and coverage steps.
Read guideRosuvastatin vs Atorvastatin: Which to Take?
Rosuvastatin vs atorvastatin (Crestor vs Lipitor): LDL lowering by dose, LODESTAR outcomes, side effects, kidney dosing, drug interactions, ancestry and genes.
Read guideWhat Is a Preventive Cardiologist? When to See One
What is a preventive cardiologist? What they check, who should see one, what a first visit looks like, how to find one near you, and where virtual care fits.
Read guideHDL Cholesterol: What Your Number Means
HDL cholesterol explained: what a good HDL level is, what low or very high HDL means, and why drugs that raise HDL haven't prevented heart attacks.
Read guideHigh Triglycerides: Causes and Treatment
High triglycerides explained: what causes them, what level is dangerous, the link to fatty liver and pancreatitis, and the changes and medicines that help.
Read guideLerochol (Lerodalcibep): Monthly PCSK9 Shot
Lerochol (lerodalcibep) is a once-monthly PCSK9 inhibitor shot. How it lowers LDL about 56%, side effects, the $199 cash price, and the coming autoinjector.
Read guideLipfendra (Enlicitide): The Oral PCSK9 Pill
Lipfendra (enlicitide), the first oral PCSK9 inhibitor: how the daily pill lowers LDL about 56 to 59%, dosing rules, side effects, cost, and who it suits.
Read guidePCSK9 Inhibitors Explained: All 5 Options
PCSK9 inhibitors explained: how Repatha, Praluent, Leqvio, Lipfendra and Lerochol lower LDL, their side effects, who qualifies, and how to get one covered.
Read guideStatin Side Effects: What's Real, What to Do
Statin side effects explained: how often muscle pain is really from the statin, what blinded trials show, real risks, and options if statins don't suit you.
Read guideWhat Is ApoB? The Test, Levels, and Goals
ApoB (apolipoprotein B) counts the particles that build plaque in your arteries. What an ApoB test shows, what a good level is, and how to lower a high one.
Read guideWhat Is Lp(a)? Levels, Risk, and Treatment
Lp(a), or lipoprotein(a), is an inherited heart risk factor, high in about 1 in 5 people. What a normal Lp(a) level is, why it matters, and how to treat it.
Read guideHow Heart Disease Develops Over Decades
How heart disease develops: plaque starts building in the teens and twenties as cholesterol particles collect in artery walls. Why lowering LDL earlier matters.
Read guidePrescription Cholesterol Medications Guide
Prescription cholesterol medications explained: statins, ezetimibe, bempedoic acid, PCSK9 inhibitors (including pills and monthly shots), and inclisiran.
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