5 important blood tests you need to know

A blood test can determine a person’s risk of developing heart disease, even if they don’t currently have any heart problems.

The blood count interprets nutritional deficiencies such as vitamin B6 or B12, anemia, clotting problems, blood cancers, infections, and immune system disorders.

One of the most important ways to monitor your overall health is to have regular blood tests. Regular blood tests can help you monitor how your body changes over time and give you the information you need to make wise lifestyle choices. Your doctor may use certain blood tests to find out how well your body’s systems are working.

For example, thyroid, liver, and kidney disorders can be detected in blood tests, as can other problems. Blood tests can also be used by your doctor to look for conditions and disorders that may affect your body in the future, such as diabetes, HIV, anemia, and cancer.

heart disease

A blood test can determine a person’s risk of developing heart disease, even if they don’t currently have any heart problems. Other blood tests can evaluate how your blood is clotting and determine whether the medicines you are taking are working properly.

complete blood count

White blood cells, red blood cells and platelets are measured during a routine complete blood count. Apart from these, hemoglobin and hematocrit are also taken into consideration. A complete blood count can reveal nutritional deficiencies such as vitamin B6 or B12, anemia (iron deficiency), clotting problems, blood cancer, infections and immune system disorders.

basic metabolic panel

Depending on your doctor’s instructions and the purpose of the test, you may need to fast for at least 8 hours before having your blood drawn. The Basic Metabolic Panel (BMP) test can guide the doctor about certain kidney diseases.

Diabetes and hormonal imbalance in the body. A BMP test typically measures blood amounts of eight substances:

calcium

sugar

sodium

potassium

bicarbonate

chloride

blood urea nitrogen (BUN)

creatinine

comprehensive metabolic panel

However a basic metabolic panel is similar to a comprehensive metabolic panel. A comprehensive metabolic panel includes monitoring of some additional proteins in the body such as albumin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase. It guides the doctors about the functioning of your liver.

lipid profile

The test checks the amount of both high- and low-density cholesterol. Because it helps the liver turn harmful compounds into waste, HDL is considered the “good” cholesterol. LDL is “bad” because it increases your chances of heart disease by encouraging plaque build-up in your arteries. Before that, you may need to fast for at least eight hours.

thyroid panel

A thyroid panel, also known as a thyroid function test, measures the efficiency with which your thyroid produces and responds to various hormones, including:

Triiodothyronine (T3) – This, along with T4, regulates your body temperature and heart rate.

Thyroxine (T4) – This controls your metabolism and how you develop with T3.

The thyroid helps control bodily processes such as your mood, energy levels and normal metabolism.

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