There are many individuals out there who suffer from high cholesterol.
Many are unaware of the danger when it comes to high cholesterol and especially if they are unsure if their results are normal or high. For some they will be tested at their physician’s office but others will try cholesterol home test kits which are sold. The question is is the cholesterol home testing as accurate as the doctor’s results with a blood test? Let’s find out.
Home cholesterol tests should not be a substitute for the test which the physician performs in their office for cholesterol levels. The cholesterol home tests will not give you the full results you need to keep healthy and also keep yourself clear of the path to any heart diseases which do increase with cholesterol levels which are quite high. So what exactly does the cholesterol home test read?
The cholesterol home test will read the fats which are found in the blood such as LDL also known as low-density lipoprotein and HDL, high-density lipoprotein as well as triglycerides. It all depends which cholesterol home testing you purchase if it will read far into the fatty layers or if it will just read the total cholesterol levels in your system. There are directions which are present with each cholesterol home testing kits which should be followed exactly for the correct results. Just as in your doctor’s office, the lab has special directions to follow to make sure each result they perform on cholesterol levels is correct. One mistake may change the test results profusely.
When using a cholesterol home test make sure to read the directions carefully. You will have to fast before taking the cholesterol home testing to make sure the results are as close as possible. Usually nine to twelve hours is suggested to go without eating. When you are ready to start the testing they will most likely ask you to prick your finger with the small lancet which they provide to draw a drop of blood. Once the blood starts to trickle out, it should be placed onto the small piece of paper which has certain chemicals to test the blood levels to break down your cholesterol level number. The test results can take up to ten minutes to review from home cholesterol tests. There are two different tests you can choose for home cholesterol tests. There are the basic strips which are read by a paper direction insert which is provided to read the results. These are the cheaper ones versus the automatic hand-held one which will read your levels to you digitally that can cost over a hundred dollars.
If you have used a cholesterol home test and you notice that your levels seem a bit high or if you just want to verify if the reading was correct, it is a good idea to make an appointment with your physician. They will take the same type of test but most likely they will send it to a lab to be processed.
