Blood Tests to Perform for Your Health Condition
Different kinds of blood tests are there for the heart and circulatory conditions. You may book blood tests online by consulting with your provider. He will also know about necessary tests to perform for improving your condition. You may ask anything about the tests to the provider and see whether or not they can help with proper information. Go through this blogpost to know about some of them and why they are important for proper functioning of your body.
Here are the list of Essential Blood Tests Everyone should get regularly
- Troponin – When you suffer from chest pain, conducting a blood test will help to check the level of troponin. This is a kind of protein which the heart produces into the bloodstream when there is some damage to heart muscle. It may help to diagnose a heart attack however, the low level won’t authenticate you have not had a stroke.Women seem to produce less troponin when compared to men and so, the diagnosis of a heart attack may miss out. With extensive research, there are several ways to calculate the same protein at lower levels called high-sensitivity testing. You should test troponin at the hospital setting and the results are available quickly which enables complete diagnosis and treatment.
- Blood glucose (Hb A1c) – This allows us to check for the level of blood glucose. It provides an accurate diagnosis of diabetes and the provider can suggest the right treatment for your case.When the glucose levels are somewhat higher than the normal but do not fulfill the criteria of diabetes, the doctor may say you have pre-diabetes or borderline diabetes. This denotes you are at risk but by making certain changes to lifestyle like weight loss, the results may be normal. You may have to do fasting for 12 hours in advance before the test.
- Cholesterol (lipid profile) – You may need to do this test in a hospital after your heart attack. It helps to calculate the total level of cholesterol and breakdown of good as well as bad cholesterol along with triglyceride levels. When the results seem to be abnormal, the doctor may prescribe stains to lessen the risk of a stroke or heart attack.It is a good way to find out whether or not your medication is effective in lessening the levels of bad cholesterol levels and know if you need to increase the dose. Many people need this to check once in a year, but your doctor may want to keep a close eye on it when it is high despite the treatment. He may even refer you to a doctor who specialises in managing lipid profile.
- Liver blood tests – With liver function tests (LFTs), you will know if your liver is working properly. The test detects different proteins and enzymes which seem to be higher or lower when there is some damage to the liver. An abnormal test result does not always mean your liver is not working properly.
- Full blood count (FBC) – This will help to detect specialised cells in your blood and denote whether you have anaemia. You may confirm some viral conditions like myocarditis or an infection.
- Group and save (or Group and screen) test – When you require blood transfusion later, have to do surgery or have anaemia, this test can be of great help. It will identify your blood group and detect the antibodies that may affect blood transfusion. You need to do it at the hospital or in a pre-assessment clinic. It requires not more than 72 hours before the transfusion and so, you may repeat it, if needed.
- Urea and electrolytes (U&E) – This will check for the chemicals known as electrolytes in your blood such as magnesium, potassium and sodium or salt. When the levels are very low or high, this may be the reason for abnormal heart rhythms. Hence, it is necessary to adjust with them when the levels are not right.The body forms a protein known as urea which breaks down in your kidneys. When there is a higher level of protein in the blood, this may denote kidney function problems. It may affect the functioning of your heart too. Certain medications for your heart like ACE inhibitors may affect the kidneys. So, the test will enable the doctor to decide whether it is safe to increase the dose, as per your condition and test results.
- Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) – This may help to diagnose or detect the severity of heart attack or failure. Your private GP will do it in the hospital. When you show any symptoms of heart failure like shortness of breath or swollen ankles, this blood test means you can start taking the medications as early as possible.
- Blood gas test – The provider takes the blood from your artery in the wrist for checking the levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen along with their chemical balance. The doctor will be doing it in A&E and Intensive Care units only. The test will help to know if you have lung problems or trouble breathing.
- International Normalised Ratio (INR) – When you take warfarin which is a medicine for thinning the blood, it is important that the levels of blood clotting should be within the level, according to your doctor. The test will help to calculate how much time your blood requires to clot. You may have to go to an anticoagulation clinic to conduct the tests and get the results on time.
The result will enable the doctor to decide the amount of warfarin you need to take and how frequently you should repeat the blood test. Sometimes, you may require some time to attain the exact level and so, you need to find the changes in your dose. Some people like to use their own INR monitoring test kit. This can be of great help when they find it really difficult to go for regular testing at the clinic.
Thus, you need to visit a reputed clinic to perform your private blood test in London and get the correct results on time.