Cholesterol Test
Thursday, January 14th, 2010 | Author: Doower
Home Cholesterol Test
Executive Summary About Cholesterol Test By Jan Pascal
Home cholesterol test is a simple and convenient method to determine our cholesterol level. Normal level is not the same for all people. Why do we need to test its level?
LDL (low-density lipoprotein) carries cholesterol from the liver to the rest of the body. Excessive cholesterol can cause LDL to deposit it onto the arteries. Since the blood carries oxygen to the heart, you may suffer chest pain if enough oxygen cannot reach your heart. Fats in our diet are divided into different types, according to their chemical composition: saturated fats, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.
Consuming a lot of saturated fats (processed meats like salami and sausages, full fat dairy products, cakes, snack foods like chips, deep fried foods, biscuits) might raise the levels of LDL in the blood, so these kinds of fats are often called ‘bad fats’.
Consuming monounsaturated fats (canola oil, olive oil, avocados and most nuts) or polyunsaturated fats (oils of seeds and grains, such as sunflower, soybeans and walnuts, safflower, corn), might increase the levels of HDL. These fats are called ‘good fats’.
There are many ways to test the level of cholesterol. This test can be accurate up to 95% of the time comparing to usual clinical test. Home test requires only a drop of blood and after a few minutes we get the result by reading the test device to determine cholesterol level in our blood. Some home tests measure only total level, while most can measure also LDL and HDL levels.
If we have results from some previous clinical test, we can use home test to check if the level has changed since.
Cholesterol Test - Interpreting the Results
Executive Summary About Cholesterol Test By Anne Hamilton
There are some people who state that home cholesterol (Chol.) testing is not as accurate as testing that is conducted in a laboratory. There are two major types of tests that you can perform at home, a full lipid profile test (the same as is performed in a hospital) or a total cholesterol test. With this variety of options there is no doubt that cholesterol testing joins blood sugar tests, ovulation kits and home HIV testing as a standard product that can be found in any American home.
A total cholesterol home test is meant to be able to monitor total Chol. A complete lipid profile cholesterol test will give you [a] reading for total Chol., low-density lipoprotein (bad Chol.), high-density lipoprotein (good Chol.) and triglycerides. Measuring total cholesterol at home gives you just one number which is a fairly good idea about the direction in which your total Chol. level is going.
According to the National Cholesterol Education Program, following are the cholesterol test result ranges and their interpretations.
- Desirable range - lower than 200 mg/dL or 5.17 mmol/L
- Borderline - Between 200 mg/dL and 239 mg/dL or between 5.17 mmol/L and 6.21 mmol/L
- High cholesterol levels - higher than 240 mg/dL or 6.21 mmol/L
On the other hand if the reading falls in the borderline or high cholesterol range, then you might need to purchase a full lipid profile home cholesterol test to completely understand the situation.
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