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ApoB The count of particles that build plaque

Also called Apolipoprotein B, Apo B and ApoB-100 Not on a standard checkup No fasting needed

The short answer

ApoB is a count of the particles that carry cholesterol into your artery walls. For your heart, lower is better. Labs flag 90 mg/dL or higher, which is also the US target for most people. The higher your risk of heart disease, the lower your target.3

A good result
Under 90 mg/dL for most people. Under 70 if your risk is high, and under 55 for most people who’ve had a heart attack or stroke.3
If yours is high
It raises your risk over years, not this week. Food changes lower it a little; statins lower it a lot.3
Should you test?
Yes, if heart disease runs in your family, or you have high triglycerides, diabetes or extra weight. A standard cholesterol test leaves it out.2,3

Check your result

Type the number from your report. It stays on this page.

Which fits you best?

Your 10-year risk is your chance of a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years, from the PREVENT calculator clinicians use. With diabetes but no other risk factors, the target is under 90.3 Heart disease in a parent or sibling at a young age raises your risk too.3 If you’re not sure which group you’re in, ask your clinician.

90 120 140
  • In the lab range Under 90
  • Above the lab range 90 to 119
  • High 120 to 139
  • Very high 140 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.

Green only reaches your target, which can sit below the lab’s cutoff of 90. Targets and the 120 and 140 lines come from the 2026 US guideline;3 European targets are a little higher, at 100, 80 and 65.2 The bar isn’t to scale.

What is a normal ApoB level?

There are two numbers to know: the lab’s cutoff, and your own target. Labs flag 90 mg/dL or higher. That’s also the US target for most people, but the higher your risk, the lower your target:3

Under your target Under 90 mg/dL for most people; under 70 or 55 if your risk is higher

Under your target

Your ApoB is where guidelines want it for someone at your level of risk.3

How worried to be

Nothing to worry about.

What to do next
  1. 1 Keep doing what you’re doing.
  2. 2 If you’ve never had Lp(a) checked, do it once. It’s inherited, raises heart risk on its own and needs its own test.2,3
Above your target 55 to 89 mg/dL, if you have diabetes, inherited high cholesterol, a high 10-year risk or past heart disease

Normal on your report, but above your target

Your lab won’t flag this, because its cutoff is 90. But with diabetes and other risk factors, inherited high cholesterol, a high 10-year risk or a past heart attack or stroke, US guidelines aim lower: under 70, or under 55.3

How worried to be

Worth acting on over the next few months. It isn’t urgent.

What to do next
  1. 1 Ask your clinician whether your treatment should change.
  2. 2 Food changes help a little; see how to lower ApoB below.
  3. 3 Recheck 4 to 12 weeks after any change.3
Above the lab range 90 to 119 mg/dL

Above the lab’s range

You have more plaque-building particles than most people. Over years, that raises your risk of a heart attack or stroke, and the more of these particles you carry, and the longer, the more plaque builds.4

How worried to be

Worth acting on, but not urgent. This is about the years ahead, not this week.

What to do next
  1. 1 See a clinician to estimate your overall risk and decide whether you need a medicine.3
  2. 2 Start with food: swap saturated fat for unsaturated fat.6
  3. 3 Check Lp(a) and HbA1c. A high Lp(a) favors stronger treatment, and diabetes with other risk factors lowers your target.3
  4. 4 Recheck 4 to 12 weeks after any change.3
High 120 to 139 mg/dL

High enough to count on its own

US guidelines treat an ApoB of 120 or more as a risk-enhancing factor: when your 10-year risk is borderline, it can tip the decision toward starting a statin.3

How worried to be

Worth seeing a clinician in the next month or two. It isn’t urgent.

What to do next
  1. 1 See a clinician about whether to start a statin.3
  2. 2 Check Lp(a) and HbA1c. Either can add to your risk.3
  3. 3 Swap saturated fat for unsaturated fat; see how to lower ApoB below.6
Very high 140 mg/dL or higher

Very high: a statin is recommended whatever your risk

US guidelines treat an ApoB of 140 or more like an LDL of 190 or more: as severe high cholesterol, where a statin is recommended without first calculating your 10-year risk.3 Levels this high, especially from a young age, can point to inherited high cholesterol.2

How worried to be

See a clinician in the next few weeks. It isn’t an emergency.

What to do next
  1. 1 See a clinician about starting a statin.3
  2. 2 Ask about tests for other causes, such as an underactive thyroid or kidney disease, and whether it could be inherited.3
  3. 3 If it’s inherited, your parents, siblings and children should be tested too.2
Heart Health panel
$150.90 · ApoB plus 16 more tests, one visit
Order
Or order ApoB on its own, $8.40

What is ApoB?

Think of cholesterol as cargo, and the particles carrying it as trucks. LDL cholesterol weighs the cargo; ApoB counts the trucks. It’s the trucks that get stuck in artery walls and start plaque, so the count is what matters most.1

Every particle that can build plaque, including LDL, VLDL and Lp(a), carries exactly one ApoB protein. So an ApoB test is a direct count of them.1

How is ApoB different from LDL cholesterol?

For most people, the two tell the same story. They split most often with high triglycerides, diabetes or extra weight: the particles are small and carry less cholesterol each, so LDL cholesterol can look fine while the count is high.1

When the two disagree, genetic studies suggest your heart risk follows ApoB.5

LDL cholesterol ApoB
What it measuresCholesterol, mostly inside LDL particlesHow many plaque-building particles you have
Includes Lp(a)Yes, the cholesterol inside itYes, one ApoB for each Lp(a) particle
On a standard cholesterol testYesNo

Neither shows how much of the result is Lp(a), so Lp(a) needs its own test.1,8

What raises ApoB?

  • Your genes, including inherited high cholesterol, which raises ApoB from birth2
  • Food high in saturated fat, such as butter, fatty meat and cheese6
  • Extra weight, insulin resistance and high triglycerides2
  • An underactive thyroid, kidney disease and some medicines, including steroids3

How to lower ApoB

  • Statins

    Lower LDL cholesterol by 30% to 50% or more, and prevent heart attacks and strokes in large trials.3

    How much it helps
    A lot
    How sure we are
    Very sure
  • Adding ezetimibe or a PCSK9 inhibitor

    Added to a statin, ezetimibe lowers LDL by about another 25%; PCSK9 inhibitors by 45% to 64%.3

    How much it helps
    A lot
    How sure we are
    Very sure
  • Swapping saturated fat for unsaturated fat

    Butter and fatty meat for olive oil, nuts and fish. Trials that replaced saturated fat with vegetable oils cut heart disease by about 30%.6

    How much it helps
    Some
    How sure we are
    Fairly sure
  • Losing extra weight

    Mainly lowers triglycerides, and the particle count with them.2

    How much it helps
    A little
    How sure we are
    Fairly sure
  • Plant sterols

    About 2 g a day, from fortified foods such as spreads, lowers LDL by 7% to 10%.2 Pills are another matter: US guidelines don’t recommend supplements for cholesterol, sterols included.3

    How much it helps
    A little
    How sure we are
    Very sure

Changes show up within weeks, which is why clinicians recheck 4 to 12 weeks after one.3 For inherited high cholesterol, food alone is rarely enough.2

Who should get an ApoB test?

It’s worth checking if any of these apply to you:

  • A parent or sibling had heart disease before 55 (men) or 65 (women).3
  • You have high triglycerides, diabetes, extra weight or metabolic syndrome.2
  • Your cholesterol looks normal, but you have other risk factors.1
  • You’re on cholesterol treatment and want to check it’s working.2,3

If you’ve never had Lp(a) checked, add it. US guidelines recommend measuring it at least once in every adult’s life, and European guidelines say it should be considered.2,3

How to get an ApoB test, and what it costs

An ApoB test costs $8.40 through Picardo. The Heart Health panel adds 16 more tests from the same visit for $150.90.

Recommended

Heart Health panel

$150.90
17 tests · fast for 12 hours first

ApoB isn’t the whole picture. The panel adds Lp(a), which is inherited, hs-CRP for inflammation, and HbA1c and insulin for blood sugar, plus kidney, liver and thyroid tests. See what’s in it

Order the Heart Health panel
Just this test

ApoB on its own

$8.40
Labcorp 167015 · no fasting needed

Only the number this page is about.

Order ApoB
  • 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.

It’s also part of the Base Core Annual – Men and Base Core Annual – Women panels, if you want a wider checkup.

Already have a result? Ask Picardo about it

Questions people ask

Will I need a statin if my ApoB is high?

Not necessarily. The decision depends on your overall risk, not ApoB alone. US guidelines count an ApoB of 120 or more as one of the factors that can tip a borderline decision toward a statin. At 140 or more, they recommend one whatever your other risks.3

Can I lower ApoB without medication?

To a degree. Swapping saturated fat for unsaturated fat, losing extra weight and eating foods fortified with plant sterols each lower it modestly.2,6 If your ApoB is high because of your genes, food changes alone are rarely enough.2

Do I need to fast for an ApoB test?

No. ApoB barely changes after a meal, so you can test at any time of day.7 If the same blood draw includes tests that need fasting, such as glucose or insulin, follow their instructions.

Can you have high ApoB with normal cholesterol?

Yes. It’s most common with high triglycerides, insulin resistance or diabetes, where particles are small and carry less cholesterol each, so LDL cholesterol looks normal while the count is high.1

Does ApoB include Lp(a)?

Yes. Each Lp(a) particle carries one ApoB, so it’s part of the count.1 But Lp(a) is usually a small share of the total, so a normal ApoB can hide a high Lp(a). It needs its own test.

Often checked alongside

Lp(a)
An inherited particle that raises heart risk
LDL cholesterol
The main cholesterol behind plaque
Triglycerides
Blood fats that rise with sugar and alcohol
HbA1c
Average blood sugar over three months

Test details

Labcorp test
Apolipoprotein B, 167015
LOINC
1884-6
Sample
Blood
Fasting
Not needed7
Typical lab range
Under 90 mg/dL
Units
mg/dL in the US. For g/L, divide by 100.

Sources

  1. 1 Sniderman AD, Thanassoulis G, Glavinovic T, et al. Apolipoprotein B particles and cardiovascular disease: a narrative review. JAMA Cardiol. 2019;4(12):1287–1295. doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2019.3780
  2. 2 Mach F, Baigent C, Catapano AL, et al. 2019 ESC/EAS Guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias: lipid modification to reduce cardiovascular risk. Eur Heart J. 2020;41(1):111–188. doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehz455
  3. 3 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: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Circulation. 2026;153(17):e1154–e1276. doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001423
  4. 4 Borén J, Chapman MJ, Krauss RM, et al. Low-density lipoproteins cause atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: pathophysiological, genetic, and therapeutic insights: a consensus statement from the European Atherosclerosis Society Consensus Panel. Eur Heart J. 2020;41(24):2313–2330. doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehz962
  5. 5 Ference BA, Kastelein JJP, Ray KK, et al. Association of triglyceride-lowering LPL variants and LDL-C–lowering LDLR variants with risk of coronary heart disease. JAMA. 2019;321(4):364–373. doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.20045
  6. 6 Sacks FM, Lichtenstein AH, Wu JHY, et al. Dietary fats and cardiovascular disease: a presidential advisory from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2017;136(3):e1–e23. doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000510
  7. 7 Nordestgaard BG, Langsted A, Mora S, et al. Fasting is not routinely required for determination of a lipid profile: clinical and laboratory implications including flagging at desirable concentration cut-points. Eur Heart J. 2016;37(25):1944–1958. doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehw152
  8. 8 Kronenberg F, Mora S, Stroes ESG, et al. Lipoprotein(a) in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and aortic stenosis: a European Atherosclerosis Society consensus statement. Eur Heart J. 2022;43(39):3925–3946. doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehac361

Updated 3 Nov 2026.

This is general health information, not medical advice: talk to your clinician about your results and before changing any treatment.