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Cholesterol Testing

October 8th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

When Should I Start Cholesterol Testing?

Doctors recommend that you start using cholesterol testing at around the age of 20. Although it is likely that your levels will be normal at that time of your life, it provides a baseline for your doctor to work with should it become necessary in the future. More tests should follow every five years unless symptoms of high cholesterol become evident in which case cholesterol testing should be carried out more frequently.

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Different Types of Cholesterol

After cholesterol testing the lipoprotein profile shows levels for both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ cholesterol.

Despite its bad reputation, cholesterol is necessary to the working of the human body. It helps to build and maintain the membranes of the body’s cells and may act as an antioxidant. Cholesterol helps make bile and digest fat. Cholesterol testing measures the amount of cholesterol that is present in the blood at the time. In most people about 85% of the cholesterol present was made by the liver. The rest comes from food.

Cholesterol found in the blood is a combination of the fatty cholesterol made by the body and protein molecules. ‘Good’ cholesterol has a higher ratio of protein to fat whilst ‘bad’ cholesterol has a higher ratio of fat. Cholesterol testing measures both types.

Low density lipoprotein (LDL) is ‘bad’ cholesterol. It develops plaque in the arteries and causes clogging which constricts the blood flow and results in heart disease.

High density lipoprotein (HDL) is ‘good’ cholesterol which, amongst other things, helps to unclog the arteries caused by the LDL problems. A cholesterol test shows the ratio between the two types.

While cholesterol testing shows how much of each type of cholesterol is present in the body, it does not show why cholesterol is high or low. Genetics can go far in determining how one’s body deals with cholesterol. Some people can have high cholesterol while on a low fat diet and vice-versa.

Cholesterol testing also measures the fats that travel through the bloodstream called triglycerides. It is made up of excess calories, alcohol and sugar. Since this fat comes directly from the diet, cholesterol testing can help show what can be done to decrease it and prevent coronary artery disease.

Regular exercise of just half an hour a day can raise ‘good’ cholesterol and lower ‘bad’ cholesterol. Limiting fats, especially saturated fats and trans fats will help reduce the 15% of cholesterol that comes from outside the body.

If exercise and change in diet are implemented but further cholesterol testing shows that little improvement has been made you doctor will likely prescribe medicine for you. By testing your cholesterol levels regularly and making any necessary changes in lifestyle you will improve your odds for a long and healthy life.

Home Cholesterol Test

February 26th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

How Reliable Are the Results of a Home Cholesterol Test?

The results produced by a Home cholesterol test kit like the results of many other types of home testing kits are not always accurate. The problem is usually in the application and not in the kit itself. Although the home cholesterol test has the potential to provide accurate results it often doesn’t do so because it is amministered incorrectly. Also, mistakes occur when the test is taken at the wrong time. Ironically however, the home cholesterol test can actually give accurate results if done properly.

How good is the Home Cholesterol Testing Kit?

If you go to a doctor with the results of a home cholesterol test he is more than likely going to ask you to take another test and this time from the lab. They will not usually rely on a home cholesterol test because of the likelihood of administration errors. Only when the lab tests results come will they proceed with the treatment. It is not surprising that doctors generally don’t trust the results the home cholesterol test despite the test itself being accurate. Obviously it is important that your treatment starts with the right cholesterol readings.

Doctors do want to take a chance because it might so happen that someone ends up taking cholesterol medication and he never even had cholesterol problems in the first place. This is why doctors usually do not take into consideration the results of any home kit when it comes to serious afflictions like high cholesterol, diabetes, etc.

However, if you have a home physician who is willing to carry out the home cholesterol test on your behalf then the test can be safely and accurately carried out at home. This makes sense because even after the test is done you would need a doctor to interpret the results anyway. That is why you might as well take a lab test rather than a home cholesterol test in the first place. The latter would only be useful when there is a doctor close by who can guide in administering it as well as in reading the results correctly.

So, even if you have taken a home cholesterol test be prepared for the test to be repeated in a lab. This way, if your home test results are wrong, you will know before you have to undergo any treatment and so avoid the treatment being based on wrong premise.

You can use a home cholesterol test kit as often as you like, especially if you suffer from a high cholesterol problem, but remember, in order to get accurate results you need to follow the instructions exactly as they written on the packet. Then confirm the report from a lab before taking medication. Never take the results of a home cholesterol test report as final.

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The information on this site is provided for educational and informational purposes only, and does not constitute professional medical advice, examination, diagnosis or treatment. If you have questions or concerns about your health you should seek the advice of an appropriately qualified and licensed physician or other health care provider. Do not start new or change existing treatment without such professisonal advice.