Cholesterol tests
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Cholesterol tests differ from other tests, as it is not
used to diagnose or monitor a disease Perce, but is used to estimate the risk of developing a disease.
Having a cholesterol test done should be considered
as a part of preventive health care, seeing that
high blood cholesterol is the main cause of hardening of the
arteries, heart disease and a raised risk of heart attacks. It is recommended to
have a cholesterol test done at least once every 3 years.
On the other hand, patients using prescribed diet or drugs to lower their
cholesterol should perform this cholesterol test more frequently. In this case, the cholesterol test is used to track
how well these measures are succeeding in lowering cholesterol
to desired levels.
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There are basically 3
categories of risk:
Desirable/acceptable: cholesterol below 200 mg/dl is considered desirable
and reflects a low risk of heart disease.
Moderate - high: cholesterol of 200 to 240 mg/dl reflects
moderate risk.
High Risk: cholesterol above 240 mg/dl is considered high risk. Your
doctor may order a lipid profile to try to determine the cause of
your high cholesterol reflected by the cholesterol tests.
A cholesterol test is used to see how
much the cholesterol is decreasing as a result of the treatment. The
goal for the amount of change or the target values are set by
the doctor. Before getting a cholesterol test, you should consider that blood
cholesterol is temporarily low during acute illness, immediately
following a heart attack, or during stress. |
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Therefore you should wait at least 6 weeks
after any illness to get a cholesterol test done. Cholesterol is high
during pregnancy and women should wait at least six weeks after
birth to have their cholesterol measured.
Important: Before getting a
cholesterol test done, it is recommended that you avoid the drugs that are known to increase
cholesterol levels like anabolic steroids, beta blockers,
epinephrine, oral contraceptives and vitamin D. Don't fool around
when it comes to your health - have the test done to ensure peace of
mind.
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