Advances in science and technology are opening new opportunities to prevent noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and improve long-term health outcomes. Precision medicine is helping healthcare move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach by using more personalized tools to better understand an individual’s health risks.
Through smarter screening and more targeted testing – including advanced blood tests, imaging technologies, and genetic insights – precision medicine can help identify risk earlier, often before symptoms appear. This earlier understanding creates valuable opportunities for prevention, lifestyle changes, and timely medical care.
For patients and families, these advances offer an important pathway toward prevention, helping people take proactive steps to protect their health and reduce the risk of serious chronic diseases before they begin.
Noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs, are also commonly referred to as chronic diseases. They are long-lasting health conditions that do not spread from person to person. Unlike infections caused by viruses or bacteria, NCDs develop over time – often without obvious symptoms in their early stages. They can quietly progress for years before becoming clinically apparent, which is why they are sometimes referred to as “silent” diseases.
NCDs are influenced by a combination of our diet, lifestyle, environmental exposures, our genetics, and even our microbiome. Poor nutrition, physical inactivity, tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, and chronic stress are among the common contributors. Over time, these factors can cause damage at a cellular and systemic level – leading to inflammation, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, abnormal lipid levels, or other imbalances that increase disease risk.
Because many NCDs evolve slowly, early warning signs are often overlooked or attributed to aging or lifestyle stress. For example, high blood pressure may not cause noticeable symptoms until it leads to a stroke or heart attack. Similarly, insulin resistance can exist for years before a person is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. By the time symptoms appear, significant internal damage may have already occurred – making early detection, screening, and prevention efforts critically important.
Behind every statistic is a family. MADP exists to help change these outcomes.
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) remain the leading causes of illness, disability, and death in the United States. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death — with one person dying every 34 seconds — and cancer is the second leading cause, with more than 1.9 million new cases expected each year. Together, these conditions drive the majority of chronic disease burden and healthcare spending nationwide.
Despite their widespread impact, many noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) can be prevented or detected earlier when people have access to the right information, screening, and preventive care. Research shows that up to 90% of heart disease and as many as 40% of cancers may be preventable through a combination of healthier lifestyles, early screening, and risk-based medical care.
Simple steps – such as evidence-based blood tests, recommended cancer screenings, and improvements in nutrition, physical activity, and environmental exposures – can help identify risks earlier and reduce the likelihood of serious disease. By prioritizing earlier detection and prevention, MADP helps individuals take action sooner and reduce the growing burden of chronic disease for families and communities.
Prevention works best when patients and providers work together – building a trusted partnership that combines clinical expertise with active patient participation in care.
MADP’s testing recommendations are informed by leading clinical organizations, including the American College of Cardiology (ACC), American Heart Association (AHA), National Lipid Association (NLA), Cleveland Clinic Heart Lab (now Quest Diagnostics), and LabCorp.
MADP recommendations encourage going beyond routine laboratory testing to include expanded evaluation of inflammation, cardiometabolic risk, insulin resistance, and advanced lipid markers – important factors that may help identify early drivers of chronic disease.
By looking deeper, patients and providers can gain a more complete and individualized understanding of health. This approach supports earlier detection of risk, more personalized prevention strategies, and improved long-term outcomes.
Traditional cholesterol tests typically measure total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. While these markers are important, they do not always provide a complete picture of an individual’s cardiovascular risk.
Advanced lipid testing includes additional biomarkers that offer deeper insight into the biology of atherosclerosis and inherited risk. Examples include:
These tests help clinicians identify individuals who may appear “within normal range” on standard cholesterol testing but still carry elevated or inherited cardiovascular risk.
By providing a more precise understanding of an individual’s underlying risk, advanced lipid testing supports earlier detection, more personalized prevention strategies, and more informed clinical decision-making – hallmarks of a precision medicine approach to cardiovascular prevention.
As part of MADP’s commitment to expanding access to evidence-based prevention tools, individuals are encouraged to take an active role in understanding their cardiovascular risk. Educational resources outlining important preventive tests to discuss at your next annual wellness visit are available through the MADP Patient Support Resource Hub.
We welcome you to download and print recommended testing guides – complete with corresponding CPT codes – to help support informed conversations with your healthcare provider and facilitate appropriate ordering of preventive screening tests.
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, despite decades of progress in cholesterol management and risk reduction. Yet a critical – and preventable – gap persists.
Lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), is a genetically inherited risk factor for premature (early age) cardiovascular disease and aortic valve stenosis that is not routinely screened in standard care. Without Lp(a) screening, many high-risk individuals remain undetected.
Lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), is a genetically inherited risk factor for cardiovascular disease that often goes undetected in routine care. About 1 in 5 adults have elevated levels, and rates are even higher (30–50%) among individuals of African descent – yet most remain unaware of their risk – and appear healthy otherwise.
Elevated Lp(a) can significantly increase the risk of premature, early aged heart attack, stroke, and calcific aortic valve disease – as early as 30s, 40s, and 50s.
A simple, once-in-a-lifetime blood test can help identify elevated Lp(a) and support earlier, potentially life-saving prevention strategies.
Lipoprotein(a) screening represents a significant and often overlooked opportunity to identify inherited cardiovascular risk before a life-threatening event occurs.
MADP encourages all adults to consider once-in-a-lifetime Lp(a) testing as part of a comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment. Increasing awareness and access to this simple blood test is an important step toward preventing premature heart attack, stroke, and aortic valve disease.
Identifying elevated Lp(a) early matters and enables:
We invite you to share this important information with family, friends, and your community – and to speak with your healthcare provider about Lp(a) testing. For additional information, we have provided the MADP Understanding the Importance of Lipoprotein(a) _ [HERE].
For those interested in advancing this life-saving public health effort, MADP also welcomes individuals to become MADP Advocacy Ambassadors or to establish a MADP Community Health Cabinet within your community or workplace. To learn more or request a starter toolkit, please contact info@microbiomeDP.org.
Together, we can prevent premature cardiovascular events, close critical gaps in care, and improve long-term health outcomes for individuals and families.
Precision medicine is reshaping prevention by identifying inherited and acquired risk before disease develops – creating opportunities for earlier detection and more effective intervention.
Genetic testing is increasingly available in primary care and can help identify individuals at higher risk for certain cancers, cardiovascular conditions, and other serious health concerns. When used appropriately, these tests support earlier screening, personalized prevention strategies, and more informed clinical decision-making.
For example, identifying inherited conditions such as Lynch syndrome can reveal an increased lifetime risk for colorectal and other cancers. Early identification enables enhanced screening, including earlier and more frequent colonoscopy, which can significantly reduce cancer risk and improve outcomes.
Your healthcare provider may consult with, or refer you to, a genetic counselor to ensure informed guidance. Together, they can help determine the most appropriate testing and develop a prevention and screening plan tailored to your personal and family history.
To learn more, MADP has provided the following educational resources to support discussions with your healthcare provider, including:
The MADP “Who Should Consider Genetic Testing” resource provides an overview of individuals who may be at higher risk and should consider genetic testing earlier, as well as important information regarding your genetic privacy and legal protections under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).
Medical-grade genetic testing is recommended and typically requires an order from a licensed healthcare provider, who can determine the most appropriate test and ensure accurate interpretation of results. MADP recommends testing options from CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited laboratories, which meet rigorous clinical standards and are widely used across leading healthcare systems.
Individuals are encouraged to use caution with direct-to-consumer genetic testing, as these tests may not provide the same level of clinical validation, comprehensiveness, or medical guidance and may result in incomplete or potentially misleading information.
Additional patient-support genetic resources are available through the MADP Patient Support Resource Hub, including downloadable guides to help navigate preventive care and support discussions with your provider.
A baby inherits genes from both parents, but genetics is only part of the story. Emerging research suggests that parental health before conception may influence how those genes are expressed through epigenetic mechanisms.
Epigenetics refers to biological signals that help regulate gene activity – shaped by factors such as nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress, and environmental exposures.
Supporting good health prior to pregnancy may help create a more favorable environment for early development and contribute to a healthier start for future children.
