Services
Testing that changes a decision
You get a test when the result will change something, and not otherwise. We order advanced cardiovascular, lipid and genetic testing in-house, because a panel that produces an impressive report and no decision is not worth your money or your worry.
Standard lipid panels miss a great deal. If you have a family history that concerns you, or numbers that look fine while something still feels wrong, this is usually where we start.
Who this is for
Who this helps
- A family history that worries you and standard testing that keeps coming back fine.
- Numbers inside the reference range while something still feels wrong.
- You have been told your cholesterol is fine, and you want to know what that means for your risk.
- You are weighing a whole-body MRI or a multi-cancer blood test and want an honest read.
- You want a real baseline while you are well, rather than a diagnosis later.
What it involves
How this works
Advanced lipid and cardiovascular panels
Beyond the standard cholesterol test, particle counts and the markers that explain why two people with the same number carry very different risk.
Genetic testing where it is decision-relevant
Ordered when it will change screening, medication, or how we counsel your family. Not as a novelty.
Your physician explains the result
Your physician goes through what the result means for you, including what it changes and what it does not.
Every result goes into your plan
Anything we order lands in the written plan with what happens next.
Side by side
Exactly what is different at Naples Concierge Health
| The usual experience | What we do |
|---|---|
| A standard lipid panel and a number. | Particle counts and the markers that explain why the number is misleading. |
| A test ordered because it is available. | A test ordered because the result changes what we do next. |
| A PDF appears in a portal. | A physician explains what it means for you, until it makes sense. |
| An impressive report and no plan. | The result lands in your written plan with what happens next. |
| An incidental finding becomes a year of anxiety. | We tell you the false-positive risk before we order, not after. |
In more detail
What you should know
Why a normal cholesterol number can be misleading
Standard lipid testing measures how much cholesterol is being carried. It does not measure how many particles are carrying it, and the particle count is often the better predictor of risk. Two people with identical total cholesterol can have meaningfully different cardiovascular risk, and the standard panel cannot tell them apart.
Advanced lipid testing looks at particle number and size. It also measures markers like lipoprotein(a). Lipoprotein(a) is largely genetic, and it affects a significant share of people.
This matters most in two situations. One is a family history that does not fit the numbers. The other is deciding whether to start a statin, a decision that should rest on your actual risk rather than on a threshold.
When genetic testing is worth doing, and when it is not
The test worth running is the one that changes a decision: screening earlier or more often, choosing or avoiding a particular medication, or telling your children something they should act on. That is a real and useful category.
Consumer genetic panels in particular generate a great deal of information of uncertain significance. That information reliably produces worry and rarely leads to a better decision.
So we ask before ordering: if this comes back positive, what do we do differently? If there is no good answer, we usually should not order the test.
Whole-body MRI, multi-cancer blood tests, and the false-positive problem
These are the questions members bring us most often, and the answer depends on who you are. For someone with a specific, elevated, well-defined risk, they can be reasonable. For a generally well person, they often find something incidental. That leads to more imaging, a biopsy, and a long stretch of worry over something that was never going to cause harm.
That is not an argument against them. It is an argument for deciding with someone who has no financial interest in the answer. We do not run these in-house, so the recommendation is the reasoning and nothing else.
Where we are not the answer
We do not run whole-body MRI or multi-cancer blood screening in-house. If you are considering one we will go through the evidence and the trade-offs with you honestly, including the false-positive problem, but we are not selling it.
Questions
What people ask
Is advanced testing included in membership?
The visit, the ordering, and the conversation about what the result means are included. The lab fee itself is usually billed to your insurance.
Should I get a whole-body MRI?
Bring us the question. There are people for whom it makes sense and people for whom it produces a year of anxiety and unnecessary biopsies. We will tell you honestly which one you look like.
What is lipoprotein(a) and should I be tested?
It is a largely inherited particle that raises cardiovascular risk independently of your ordinary cholesterol numbers. It is worth measuring once in your life, because it does not change much and because a raised result changes how aggressively your other risk factors should be managed.
Will genetic testing affect my insurance?
In the United States, GINA restricts health insurers and employers from using genetic information, but it does not cover life, disability or long-term care insurance. That is a real consideration and we will raise it with you before testing rather than after.
How often should advanced testing be repeated?
Genetic results do not change, so once is usually enough. Lipid and cardiovascular markers are worth repeating when something changes: a new medication, a significant lifestyle change, or a result that we are actively working on.
This page is general health information, not medical advice, and reading it does not create a physician-patient relationship with Naples Concierge Health or any of its physicians. Talk to a qualified clinician about your own health. If this is an emergency, call 911.
Start here
What is your medical care missing?
A short conversation with our member liaison about the care you have now: who follows up, who keeps your care coordinated, and where the gaps are. We will tell you if there are no gaps.