Plenya

Longevity Checkup

The exam that looks ahead.

A traditional checkup confirms whether you are sick today. A longevity checkup maps where your health is heading over the next twenty years — and what is still in time to change.

About the Checkup

Conventional medicine validates normality. Longevity medicine reads trajectory. They are different questions — and they require different instruments.

In Brazil, most annual checkups are still designed to identify already-established disease. CBC, glucose, total cholesterol, abdominal ultrasound — useful, but insufficient. ApoB predicts cardiovascular risk better than LDL. VO₂ max predicts all-cause mortality better than any other single marker. Body composition by bioimpedance distinguishes those who lost fat from those who lost muscle. These are the exams that change decisions.

The Plenya longevity checkup is structured in three layers. The first, advanced laboratory tests — ApoB-centered lipid profile, inflammatory markers, minerals and vitamins that regulate cellular function. The second, functional assessment — cardiopulmonary exercise testing for VO₂ max, dynamometry, segmental bioimpedance. The third, habit and environment assessment — measured sleep, light exposure, eating pattern, physical activity tracked by wearable.

The result is not an envelope with red marks. It is a 90-minute conversation with integrated clinical reading and a named plan — substance, dose, frequency, re-evaluation deadline.

Initial panel

12 markers that change the reading

The initial panel most frequently ordered in checkups oriented to health trajectory. Each item below comes with the short clinical criterion that guides the reading. Complete blood count, renal function, urinalysis and well-measured blood pressure remain in the background — indispensable, and not counted in this list.

  • 01ApoB · atherogenic particles

    Count of circulating LDL, IDL, VLDL and Lp(a) particles. Better cardiovascular predictor than LDL alone. General target <90 mg/dL; <65 in secondary prevention.

  • 02Lipoprotein (a) · Lp(a)

    Hereditary; measured once in a lifetime. About 1 in 5 adults has elevated Lp(a). Target <50 mg/dL or <125 nmol/L.

  • 03Fasting insulin · HOMA-IR

    Detects insulin resistance years before glucose rises. Insulin <8 µIU/mL is desirable; HOMA-IR <2.0 is the clinical target.

  • 04HbA1c · average glycation

    90-day glycation average. ADA 2026 criteria: <5.7% normal, 5.7 to 6.4% prediabetes, ≥6.5% diabetes.

  • 05High-sensitivity CRP

    Subclinical inflammation, independent cardiovascular risk factor. Target <1.0 mg/L. Always read with acute conditions ruled out.

  • 06Ferritin + transferrin saturation

    Together, not in isolation. Ferritin alone can mask functional deficiency or be falsely elevated by inflammation.

  • 07TSH · free T4 · free T3

    TSH alone misses central dysfunction and altered conversion. The triad gives a complete reading of the thyroid axis.

  • 0825-OH vitamin D

    Deficiency widespread in Brazil even in sunny regions. Individualized target, 40 to 60 ng/mL for most adults.

  • 09Vitamin B12 · homocysteine

    B12 alone can read "normal" with functional deficiency already established. Homocysteine >10 µmol/L suggests active deficiency.

  • 10Testosterone total · free · SHBG

    For men. Total alone misleads when SHBG is high. Ordered with LH/FSH when hypogonadism is suspected.

  • 11Estradiol · FSH · progesterone

    For women in perimenopause. FSH is the most sensitive marker of declining ovarian reserve. Sampled in the follicular phase.

  • 12Coronary calcium score · CAC

    Low-dose non-contrast CT. Measures calcified atherosclerotic plaque. Done once; repeated in 5 years if zero.

Illustrative panel. Each test is indicated case by case by the medical team according to age, sex, family history, complaints and risk factors — in compliance with Brazilian Federal Council of Medicine Resolution CFM 2.336/2023.

Deeper reading on each marker: 12 tests a longevity checkup orders →

Perguntas frequentes

Questions we hear every week.

  • It is a clinical assessment oriented not just to detecting established disease, but to mapping the trajectory of health — cardiorespiratory capacity, body composition, advanced metabolic markers, sleep, cognition, habits. The goal is to identify the silent window between normal and optimal, before symptoms appear.
  • The traditional checkup validates normality within wide reference ranges. The longevity checkup integrates markers that predict trajectory — VO₂ max, ApoB, Lp(a), body composition, omega-3 index — and crosses them with habits, sleep, and exposures. It is not a "normal" stamp; it is a plan.
  • The base panel includes advanced lipid profile (ApoB, Lp(a)), HbA1c, fasting and post-prandial glucose, hs-CRP, vitamin D, ferritin, B12, homocysteine, omega-3 index, magnesium, thyroid hormones, vitamin K2 (when indicated), 25-OH vitamin D. Functional assessment includes cardiopulmonary exercise testing (VO₂ max), bioimpedance, grip dynamometry. Imaging is risk-driven — we do not use scanning without indication.
  • The Plenya longevity checkup is a process, not a single day. Lab collection happens in one morning. The clinical-reading session, with individualized plan, lasts 90 minutes. Patients who join the Continuum program have re-evaluation every six months.
  • The most valuable window is between 35 and 55 years old — before damage takes hold, after the first silent changes. Above 55, it is still useful to reverse what is reversible and stabilize the rest. Below 35, it makes sense for people with a family history of early cardiovascular events.
  • The Plenya consultation is private-pay. Some labs may be covered by your insurance plan in Brazil — we advise the best strategy case by case. Most patients prefer to consolidate everything at a partner laboratory to ensure standardized technique and longitudinal comparability.

From the Plenya Blog

Scheduling

Book the checkup.

Reach out to the Plenya team to understand the best format for your moment — a Plenya Consultation or the Continuum program.

Talk to the Team

Healthspan

The agenda behind the checkup.

Continuum

Longitudinal follow-up.