Routine blood testing is an important way to maintain a track of your overall condition. Getting tested on daily basis can help to visualize changes your body undergoes due to age and empower you to take informed decisions related to your health. If you are residing in Camden area, your doctor may ask to conduct private blood tests for knowing about your overall health and well-being. These investigations help in early detection of any illness which can prevent its progression into severe stages. They can also help to put a tab on how well your body responds to different treatments for your diseases.
How often you need to get tested
The doctor may recommend getting routine blood testing done at least once in a year. Other causes that can prompt you to conduct blood tests include:
- If you want to change your lifestyle, certain abnormalities in different parameters like low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein can help to change your diet or fitness plan
- When you experience abnormal or persistent symptoms such as unusual weight loss or gain, fatigue or new pain
- If you are at greater risk of certain conditions due to family record or certain lifestyle habits
- If you want to lessen the risk of diseases as routine blood tests denote warning signs of most diseases
Below are ten routine blood tests to maintain good health and stay free from any health problems:
Complete Blood Count
Also called hemogram, this calculates the levels of several components of each major blood cells such as:
- White blood cells (WBCs)
- Red blood cells (RBCs)
- Hemoglobin (protein in RBCs)
- Mean corpuscular volume
- Hematocrit
- Platelets
and more blood parameters
The abnormal levels of the lab tests may denote:
- Lack of sufficient blood cells
- Deficiency of iron
- Signs of infection
- Inflammation of tissue
- Nutritional deficiencies like Vitamin B12 or B6
- Heart conditions.
Electrolytes Panel
The basic electrolytes test includes measurement of some mineral compounds in your blood which include:
- Potassium
- Sodium
- Chloride
- Magnesium
Some abnormality in these parameters may be dehydration, hormone imbalances or malnutrition.
Liver Panel
A liver function testchecks for different parameters like proteins, enzymes and other substances produced by liver. Some important values a liver function test provides are:
- Albumin
- Bilirubin
- Alkaline phosphatase (ALP)
- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)
- Alanine aminotransferase (ALT)
The increased levels of any of these components may denote liver diseases such as – fatty liver, cirrhosis, hepatitis, etc. The reduced ALP levels can be a diagnostic marker for bone metabolic disorders.
Lipid Panel
The test evaluates the levels of different kinds of cholesterol and related fats in your blood. It usually denotes:
- HDL or “good” cholesterol
- Triglycerides
- LDL or “bad” cholesterol
- Total cholesterol
This panel can evaluate the risk of heart diseases for older individuals. The results of this test may influence and improve lifestyle choices.
Thyroid Panel
A thyroid panel, or say thyroid function tests, assesses how well the thyroid is producing and reacting to certain hormones. It consists of:
- Triiodothyronine (T3): This hormone with T4 regulates your body temperature and heart rate.
- Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH): This hormone modulates hormone levels produced by your thyroid.
- Thyroxine (T4): Along with T3, this hormone regulates the rate of metabolism.
Unusual levels of these hormones may be the reason for several conditions such as – low levels of protein, abnormal levels of sex hormones like estrogen or testosterone and thyroid growth disorders.
Diabetes Panel
The tests for diabetes are – fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and post-meal blood glucose. The doctor will see test results and tell how well your blood sugar is controlled. With HbA1c test, he assesses the amount of glucose in your body which is mainly done to monitor sugar control of a diabetic patient. They may help in evaluable probabilities of diabetes or pre-diabetic individual.
Essential Nutrients Test
The blood tests which evaluate body’s level of some nutrients include – Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, iron and magnesium. These are vital for proper functioning of your body. Most people have deficiency of these nutrients and so, it is essential to assess the levels and supplement them when they aren’t sufficient. The supplementation of nutrients prevents various disorders which include – anemia, deficiency of iron, risk of fractures, falls, acute or severe pain.
Inflammatory Markers
The tests for inflammatory markers are C-reactive protein (CRP)and homocysteine. Increased levels of CRP denotes inflammation in your body and is somewhat related to increased risk of artery inflammation, cardiac events, rheumatoid arthritis, depression or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The rise in homocysteine levels may indicate several conditions such as heart disease, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, folate status, kidney diseases and stroke.
Coagulation Panel
The tests for coagulation include – international normalized ratio (INR) and prothrombin time (PT). Both these tests help to measure the ability of body to clot blood and time taken for the blood clot. Clotting is a crucial procedure of your body and these blood tests may prevent from bleeding out in the case of any surgical procedure or an injury.
Besides, these test results diagnose any underlying conditions related to improper clotting, such as:
- Hemophilia
- Acute myeloid leukemia
- Thrombosis
- Vitamin K deficiency
- Liver conditions
With early diagnosis of certain diseases, you may prevent it from progressing to a severe form. But these lab tests are usually not for the final diagnosis. Different blood tests are conducted to detect any abnormality, which is often correlated with other investigations by taking the help of a healthcare professional for the ultimate diagnosis.
Most blood tests require fasting for 8–12 hours which ensures the test results are free from any variables such as – proteins, vitamins and other nutrients for the private blood test result to be accurate. It is advisable to conduct routine blood tests once in a year and seek advice of the doctor for your improved health condition.