Heart risk language,
layered for real understanding.
Cardiovascular prevention is full of terms that sound familiar until they have to guide a real decision. The HeartFirst Glossary is being built as a tiered reference system: quick enough to start, deep enough to support serious heart risk conversations.
We cannot act on language
we do not understand.
we do not understand.
The HeartFirst Glossary is being built to turn heart risk terms into layered, usable explanations: quick enough to orient us, deep enough to support better questions, and structured enough to connect related risks.
Heart risk is often explained in fragments: lab abbreviations, risk scores, test names, inherited conditions, anatomy, medicines, and phrases that mean different things in different settings. The glossary can help us move from uncertainty to understanding, from understanding to better questions and conversations, and from better conversations to informed decisions and the right next action.
Not a word list. A reference layer.
Each topic will be a full-width expandable entry. It will open first to the Birds-eye explanation, with Ground and Deeper sections available inside the entry for readers who need more context.
Each term will move from meaning to decision context.
The first glossary release will focus on the terms people meet when risk starts to become real.
The groups below preview the first glossary themes being prepared. Priority terms will be standardised first so they can support product pages, research summaries, briefings, and practical tools.
Cholesterol and lipid markers
Risk interpretation and testing
Biology and risk domains
Metabolic and lifestyle context
Clinical and treatment language
Symptoms, events, and outcomes
A glossary entry should not force every reader to the same depth.
The example below shows the three explanation depths used for each glossary term. Each entry opens with a general Birds-eye meaning and a short "Why it matters" note. Readers who want more detail can expand Ground or Deeper when needed.
Apolipoprotein B (ApoB)
A full-width term entry with reading-width content inside. This is the intended pattern for the working glossary.
Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) A particle-count marker for LDL and other artery-relevant lipoproteins.
Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) is a protein that sits on the surface of LDL and several other particles that can build up in arteries. Measuring ApoB gives an idea of how many of these particles are in the blood, rather than just how much cholesterol they carry. It is sometimes checked when your cholesterol results do not seem to tell the whole story.
Ground
ApoB (apolipoprotein B) provides a different perspective from LDL-C. LDL-C measures the amount of cholesterol inside LDL particles; ApoB reflects the number of atherogenic particles—LDL, VLDL, IDL, and Lp(a)—because each of these particles carries exactly one ApoB molecule.
In people with elevated triglycerides, diabetes, obesity, or metabolic syndrome, LDL-C can underestimate particle burden. Guidelines increasingly recognise ApoB as a useful secondary marker, especially when risk is unclear despite a standard lipid panel. Discussing ApoB with your health team may be worthwhile if your cholesterol results feel incomplete.
Deeper
ApoB is a structural component of all lipoprotein particles that contain ApoB-100, including LDL, VLDL, IDL, and Lp(a). It provides a direct count of atherogenic particle number, bypassing the variability of cholesterol content per particle.
Discordance between LDL-C and ApoB is common in insulin-resistant states, chronic kidney disease, and hypertriglyceridaemia, and multiple cohort analyses show that ApoB can outperform LDL-C as a risk predictor when the two disagree. The 2026 ACC/AHA guideline and several consensus statements recommend ApoB testing in selected patients, particularly those with diabetes, metabolic syndrome, elevated triglycerides, or residual risk on statin therapy.
Analytical standardisation is strong, and ApoB immunoassays are widely available. The main barrier to broader use is often clinician familiarity, reimbursement, and whether health systems have built ApoB into routine risk workflows.
Preview note: final glossary entries may include source trails, date stamps, and cross-links once the full JSON term library is standardised.
Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) An inherited lipoprotein linked to higher risk of heart disease, stroke, and aortic valve disease.
Coronary artery calcium (CAC) score A coronary artery calcium (CAC) score is a computed tomography (CT)-based measure of calcified plaque in the coronary arteries. It does not replace risk-factor assessment, but it can help clarify risk when treatment decisions are uncertain.
The glossary is being built carefully because the structure matters.
The first version will not be a dump of definitions. Terms are being converted, standardised, and structured so the glossary can support public reading, professional reference, and future topic pages without becoming unmanageable.
What is being standardised now
The working library is being converted into a consistent structure so entries can be searched, filtered, linked, expanded, and reused across HeartFirst.
- Term name and short descriptor
- Birds-eye, Ground, and Deeper text
- Why it matters notes
- See also cross-links
- Source and review metadata where appropriate
What visitors can use now
While the full glossary is being prepared, the strongest starting points are the Heart Risk Navigator Starter, Lp(a) page, research reports, and briefing cards.
Need something useful now?
Start with what you know.
The full glossary is being built term by term. For now, use the Heart Risk Navigator Starter to organise results, risk signals, family history, questions, and one practical next action.
Use the Heart Risk Navigator Starter