#111 - AMA #14: What lab tests can (and cannot) inform us about our overall objective of longevity

The Peter Attia Drive

Peter Attia, MD

Health & Fitness, Medicine, Fitness

4.7 • 7.3K Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2020

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) episode, Peter explains his framework for understanding what lab tests can (and cannot) inform us as it pertains to overall longevity, with a specific focus on atherosclerosis, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and the physical body. Additionally, Peter shares details into two patient case studies around cardiovascular disease, including how the lab results influenced his diagnosis and treatment plan for the patients. Once again, Bob Kaplan, Peter’s head of research, will be asking the questions. If you’re not a subscriber and listening on a podcast player, you’ll only be able to hear a preview of the AMA. If you’re a subscriber, you can now listen to this full episode on your private RSS feed or on our website at the AMA #14 show notes page.

We discuss:

Important lab tests and reference ranges [2:35];
How lab testing fits into the overall objective of longevity [4:25];
A healthcare system set up to react to a disease rather than prevent it [8:00];
The four pillars of chronic disease, and the three components of healthspan [14:30];
Atherosclerosis—How much can labs tell us about risk? [18:00];
Coronary calcium score (CAC)—Interpreting results based on your age [24:15];
Cancer—What lab work can tell you, and the future of liquid biopsies [28:00];
Alzheimer’s disease—What’s driving Alzheimer’s disease, and what labs can tell you about your risk [33:15];
Healthspan and the physical body—Where lab testing fits, the endocrine system, and zone 2 testing [39:00];
Summarizing the usefulness of lab testing—Where it gives great, reasonable, or lousy insight [43:15];
Patient case study—Elevated Lp(a): Understanding ApoB, and how cholesterol levels get reduced [45:30];
Patient case study—Familial hypercholesterolemia [59:30];
Coming up on a future AMA [1:10:30]; and
More.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everyone, welcome to a sneak peek, ask me anything, or AMA episode of the Drive Podcast.
0:16.5	I'm your host, Peter Atia.
0:18.3	At the end of this short episode, I'll explain how you can access the AMA episodes in full,
0:22.9	along with a ton of other membership benefits we've created.
0:25.9	Before you can learn more now by going to peteratia-md.com forward slash subscribe.
0:31.5	So without further delay, here's today's sneak peek of the Ask Me Anything episode.
0:36.5	Hey everyone, welcome to another Ask Me Anything, or AMA episode.
0:43.1	This is number 14.
0:44.1	One of our previous AMAs I mentioned how I like to think about lab ranges and I might
0:49.3	look at them in a way that's not necessarily congruent with the way the labs themselves
0:53.5	talk about them.
0:54.5	I talked about doing potentially an episode about looking at labs and such.
0:58.5	So this is that episode.
0:59.6	So this is a pretty big topic, and we actually didn't cover as much as I thought we would
1:03.8	before we ran out of time on this episode.
1:05.8	So in this episode, I talk very broadly, but I think comprehensively in a manner that's
1:10.4	helpful to think about labs about my framework for what labs can inform and what they can't
1:18.6	inform.
1:19.6	And again, even though that took longer than I thought it would take, I don't think it makes
1:22.8	sense to get into this discussion without starting with a foundation.
1:26.6	And so I think you'll find that interesting and hopefully it's the type of thing you don't
1:30.4	have to go back and revisit over and over again, but sitting through it once is a really
	...

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