Medical tests Archive

Elevated levels of aldosterone (a hormone that regulates water, sodium, and potassium in the body) is an underrecognized and undertreated contributor to high blood pressure.

Carotid artery stenosis, which happens when fatty plaque accumulates in neck arteries that supply the brain, leaves people vulnerable to a stroke. Intensive drug therapy may forestall the need for invasive procedures to treat this problem.

Multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests offer the potential to detect up to 50 types of cancer from a single blood draw. Most cancer deaths stem from cancers for which there is no screening test. MCED tests may find evidence of less common but more lethal types like ovarian and pancreatic cancer. But before considering one of these tests (which can be requested online), people should understand the limitations, including the high cost and possibility of false positive results.

An apolipoprotein B (apoB) test counts the number of LDL particles in the bloodstream as well as other particles that can contribute to clogged arteries and heart attacks. All of these so-called atherogenic particles carry a single apoB molecule but varying amounts of cholesterol. ApoB values are more closely linked to heart disease risk than LDL cholesterol. People with signs of an unhealthy metabolism-such as prediabetes, a big belly, or elevated triglycerides-are far more likely to have a high apoB.

A type of artificial intelligence that uses a deep machine learning tool to analyze different features from routine mammograms can predict a woman's risk of heart-related problems, according to a 2025 analysis.