When you call your doctor nowadays to schedule an annual physical, the office manager first sets an appointment with the lab. Once the lab results are in, she’ll make the doctor’s appointment. The lab checks your cholesterol (LDL and HDL), triglycerides, and an array of other levels and indicators.
 
Not so long ago, having an annual checkup meant making an appointment with the doctor, who would do some probing around and ask how you felt. Then he’d send you on your merry way, after maybe telling you to lose some weight. Today, the “blood work” yields the ...