Carilion Labs is proud to introduce Lp-PLA₂ testing as an innovative approach to cardiovascular risk reduction. PLA₂ has been approved by the FDA to predict coronary events and is the first, and only FDA approved test for stroke risk prediction.

Lp-PLA₂ is a better inflammatory marker than others because it is:

1. Specific for vascular inflammation (i.e., not elevated from common infections or arthritis).
2. It is independent of all major cardiovascular risk factors, including Body Mass Index and the Metabolic Syndrome.
3. It is highly correlated with the presence of rupture-prone plaque and appears to be a marker of vascular inflammation, and not simply a marker associated with systemic inflammation.

For more information on this test or ordering information click anywhere on this article.

The Profit Potential of Hospital Labs
By Chris Serb

Outreach programs expand services to physicians, employers and insurers with relatively modest added investment

Opinions about what strategic value hospitals derive from their laboratories have zigged and zagged during the last 30 years: from cash cows to "necessary evil" cost centers; from something of an afterthought to mission-critical drivers of data and decisions. Now, perceptions are changing again. Hospital leaders increasingly see so-called laboratory outreach programs as a true business opportunity.

Outreach expands labs’ traditional role beyond quickly turning around tests for emergency cases and inpatients. Hospitals market their labs’ services to physician offices, employers and insurance companies, no longer conceding most of that business to independent commercial labs.