Cholesterol tests

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.

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.

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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