The short answer
ApoA-1 is the main protein on HDL particles, so it gives a rough count of them. Below the lab’s range, under 101 mg/dL for men or 116 for women, it goes with higher heart risk.2,8 But raising it hasn’t been shown to prevent heart attacks.6
Check your result
Type the number from your report. It stays on this page.
- Low Under 101
- In range 101 to 178
- Above range 179 or more
- Low Under 116
- In range 116 to 209
- Above range 210 or more
Enter your result to see what it means and what to do next.
Got a result from another lab? Ask Picardo about it. The app explains your results, and a physician can follow up.
Ranges are Labcorp’s, for adults.8 There’s no treatment target for ApoA-1. US guidelines set goals for LDL and non-HDL cholesterol, and use ApoB, instead.7 The bar isn’t to scale.
Below the lab’s range
Low ApoA-1 goes with a higher risk of heart attack.2 It usually comes with low HDL cholesterol, which mostly reflects high triglycerides and the particles that carry them.1
Not urgent. It’s a reason to look at your other numbers, not one to treat.
- 1 Check ApoB. It counts the particles that build plaque, and US guidelines use it to fine-tune treatment once LDL goals are met.7
- 2 Look at triglycerides and blood sugar. High triglycerides and insulin resistance often come with low HDL.7
- 3 Skip supplements or medicines meant to raise it. In trials, raising ApoA-1 didn’t prevent heart attacks.6
Within the lab’s range
Your ApoA-1 is typical for an adult. It doesn’t offset other risks: treatment decisions rest on LDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol and ApoB, along with blood pressure, blood sugar and smoking.7
Nothing to worry about.
- 1 If you haven’t, check ApoB. With both numbers, you can work out your ApoB/ApoA-1 ratio, explained below.
- 2 Check Lp(a) once if you never have. It’s inherited, and US guidelines recommend measuring it in every adult.7
Above the lab’s range
Your lab will flag this as high. It usually comes with high HDL cholesterol.1 It isn’t extra protection: people whose genes give them more ApoA-1 don’t have fewer heart attacks.5
Not a worry on its own.
- 1 Judge your heart risk on ApoB or LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and smoking.7
- 2 If your HDL cholesterol is very high too, read the HDL guide.
What is a normal ApoA-1 level?
Labcorp’s range is higher for women than for men. A result below it is the one that matters, and even then it’s a sign to look at the rest of your heart risk rather than something to treat:7,8
Below the lab’s range
Low ApoA-1 goes with a higher risk of heart attack.2 It usually comes with low HDL cholesterol, which mostly reflects high triglycerides and the particles that carry them.1
Not urgent. It’s a reason to look at your other numbers, not one to treat.
- 1 Check ApoB. It counts the particles that build plaque, and US guidelines use it to fine-tune treatment once LDL goals are met.7
- 2 Look at triglycerides and blood sugar. High triglycerides and insulin resistance often come with low HDL.7
- 3 Skip supplements or medicines meant to raise it. In trials, raising ApoA-1 didn’t prevent heart attacks.6
Within the lab’s range
Your ApoA-1 is typical for an adult. It doesn’t offset other risks: treatment decisions rest on LDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol and ApoB, along with blood pressure, blood sugar and smoking.7
Nothing to worry about.
- 1 If you haven’t, check ApoB. With both numbers, you can work out your ApoB/ApoA-1 ratio, explained below.
- 2 Check Lp(a) once if you never have. It’s inherited, and US guidelines recommend measuring it in every adult.7
Above the lab’s range
Your lab will flag this as high. It usually comes with high HDL cholesterol.1 It isn’t extra protection: people whose genes give them more ApoA-1 don’t have fewer heart attacks.5
Not a worry on its own.
- 1 Judge your heart risk on ApoB or LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and smoking.7
- 2 If your HDL cholesterol is very high too, read the HDL guide.
What is ApoA-1?
If ApoB counts the trucks carrying cholesterol into your artery walls, ApoA-1 roughly counts the ones that can carry it back out. Roughly, because each HDL particle has two or three copies, not one.1
It’s the protein that holds HDL particles together and helps them pull spare cholesterol out of cells.1 The lab measures the protein itself, not the cholesterol HDL carries.
How is ApoA-1 different from ApoB?
They sit on opposite sides of the ledger. ApoB is on every particle that builds plaque, one per particle, so it’s an exact count of them.7 ApoA-1 is on HDL, and a higher level goes with lower risk.2
Only one of them is something to treat. Lowering ApoB is a goal of treatment; raising ApoA-1 isn’t.6,7
What is the ApoB/ApoA-1 ratio?
Divide your ApoB by your ApoA-1. The higher the result, the more plaque-building particles you have compared with HDL. Two large studies made the case for it:
- AMORIS followed about 175,000 people for around five years. A higher ratio strongly predicted death from a heart attack, in men and in women.2
- INTERHEART compared about 9,300 people who’d had a heart attack with 12,100 who hadn’t, across 52 countries. The ratio was more closely tied to heart attacks than any cholesterol ratio, in every ethnic group and at every age.3
A pooled analysis of 68 studies found less of an edge. There, the ApoB/ApoA-1 ratio predicted heart disease no better than non-HDL divided by HDL cholesterol, which you can work out from a standard test.4
Should you try to raise ApoA-1?
No. Raising it hasn’t been shown to lower heart risk:
- In AEGIS-II, 18,219 people who’d just had a heart attack got four weekly infusions of ApoA-1 or a placebo. After 90 days, 4.8% of the ApoA-1 group and 5.2% of the placebo group had had another heart attack, a stroke or a death from heart disease. A gap that small could be chance.6
- People born with gene variants that raise ApoA-1 and HDL don’t have fewer heart attacks.5
- Across studies, ApoA-1’s link to heart risk is no stronger than HDL cholesterol’s.1
The steps that lower heart risk act on ApoB instead. The ApoB guide covers them.
Who should get an ApoA-1 test?
It adds the most if:
- You’re testing ApoB and want the ratio.2,3
- Your HDL is very low and a specialist is looking for an inherited cause. Rare changes in the APOA1 gene are one.1
For decisions about treatment, LDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol and ApoB matter more.7
How to get an ApoA-1 test, and what it costs
An ApoA-1 test costs $8.25 through Picardo. The Heart Health panel adds 16 more tests from the same visit for $150.90.
Heart Health panel
The panel measures ApoA-1 and ApoB from the same draw, so you get the ratio. It adds Lp(a), an advanced cholesterol profile, and HbA1c and insulin for blood sugar. See what’s in it
ApoA-1 on its own
Only the number this page is about.
- Results in 2 to 3 days, in the app
- Physician follow-up if you want one
- Free Labcorp draw, or $75 at home
- No other fees. HSA and FSA eligible.
Questions people ask
Do I need to fast for an ApoA-1 test?
No. Apolipoproteins predict heart risk just as well in blood taken after a meal.3,4 If other tests in the same draw need fasting, such as insulin, fast for those.
Is ApoA-1 the same as HDL cholesterol?
Not quite. HDL cholesterol measures the cholesterol inside HDL particles, while ApoA-1 measures their main protein. The two usually move together, and ApoA-1 predicts heart risk no better than HDL cholesterol does.1,5
Is ApoA-1 on a standard cholesterol test?
No. A standard test measures total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and estimates LDL.7 ApoA-1 has to be ordered on its own or as part of a panel.
Often checked alongside
Test details
Sources
- 1 von Eckardstein A, Nordestgaard BG, Remaley AT, Catapano AL. High-density lipoprotein revisited: biological functions and clinical relevance. Eur Heart J. 2023;44(16):1394–1407. doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehac605
- 2 Walldius G, Jungner I, Holme I, et al. High apolipoprotein B, low apolipoprotein A-I, and improvement in the prediction of fatal myocardial infarction (AMORIS study): a prospective study. Lancet. 2001;358(9298):2026–2033. doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(01)07098-2
- 3 McQueen MJ, Hawken S, Wang X, et al. Lipids, lipoproteins, and apolipoproteins as risk markers of myocardial infarction in 52 countries (the INTERHEART study): a case-control study. Lancet. 2008;372(9634):224–233. doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61076-4
- 4 Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration; Di Angelantonio E, Sarwar N, Perry P, et al. Major lipids, apolipoproteins, and risk of vascular disease. JAMA. 2009;302(18):1993–2000. doi.org/10.1001/jama.2009.1619
- 5 Haase CL, Tybjærg-Hansen A, Grande P, Frikke-Schmidt R. Genetically elevated apolipoprotein A-I, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and risk of ischemic heart disease. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010;95(12):E500–E510. doi.org/10.1210/jc.2010-0450
- 6 Gibson CM, Duffy D, Korjian S, et al. Apolipoprotein A1 infusions and cardiovascular outcomes after acute myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med. 2024;390(17):1560–1571. doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2400969
- 7 Blumenthal RS, Morris PB, Gaudino M, et al. 2026 ACC/AHA/AACVPR/ABC/ACPM/ADA/AGS/APhA/ASPC/NLA/PCNA guideline on the management of dyslipidemia. Circulation. 2026;153(17):e1154–e1276. doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001423
- 8 Labcorp. Apolipoprotein A-1 (test 016873): reference interval. Accessed October 28, 2026. www.labcorp.com/tests/016873/apolipoprotein-a-1
Updated 28 Oct 2026.
This is general health information, not medical advice: talk to your clinician about your results and before changing any treatment.