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Take the good with the bad
There's good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. HDL, or "good" cholesterol, helps take up and carry cholesterol out of coronary arteries, which helps prevent blockages. LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, can deposit on the walls of blood vessels and cause blockages. If you're actively trying to lower your cholesterol, and maybe doing some additional exercise or dieting, a home kit can provide continual feedback on your progress. The kits are inexpensive, accurate, and easy to use. While they don't take the place of a complete work-up at a physician's office -- where good cholesterol and bad cholesterol are measured separately -- the tests do track your progress.
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Do You Know What Your Cholesterol Level Is?
More than half the coronary heart disease in the United States is caused by abnormal blood levels of lipoproteins, like cholesterol. The culprit? Poor diet and lack of exercise. While genetics plays a role in how susceptible you may be to heart disease, you can control some of your risk by reducing your cholesterol level. More and more people are watching their diets by consuming low-cholesterol foods. Many are also under the medical care of a doctor to reduce high cholesterol levels.
You might want to see if your new diet and lifestyle are effective by checking your cholesterol frequently. Home tests are a simple, cost-effective way to check your total cholesterol, but consider them a supplement rather than a replacement for lab testing through your health care provider.
The Good and the Bad
One of the disadvantages of at-home cholesterol test kits is that they only give you a measure of your total cholesterol, which is not broken down into the two types, HDL and LDL. You must be tested by a doctor to get this important breakdown, which should be determined at least once every five years for a healthy individual without risk factors or other medical conditions.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance that travels through the blood by attaching itself to protein molecules. Depending on what type of protein they are attached to, cholesterol can be classified as a high density lipoprotein (HDL) or a low density lipoprotein (LDL).
- HDL, or "good" cholesterol, carries cholesterol out of coronary arteries, which helps prevent blockages.
- An HDL level below 35 milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL) for a male and 45 milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL) for a female is considered a risk factor for heart disease by the National Cholesterol Education Program.
- You can raise your HDL level slightly by losing excess weight, stopping smoking, and exercising more.
- LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, can deposit in the walls of blood vessels and cause blockages.
- Your LDL level is generally the basis of treatment guidelines: it is estimated from your total, HDL and triglyceride (another lipoprotein) levels.
- Diet, exercise, and (sometimes) drug treatment are primary ways to reduce LDL levels.
- A total cholesterol level above 200 milligrams per deciliter of blood is considered a risk factor for heart disease.
Tips on At-Home Tests
- Home tests are relatively accurate; however, your cholesterol level can fluctuate greatly depending on the time of day and your recent diet.
- No matter what test you use, your results will always be different. It is suggested that you take more than one test and average the results. Using the same brand test, wait one to eight weeks before taking the second test.
Cholesterol Tests at a Doctor's Office
- Sit for at least five minutes before your blood is drawn. Standing and lying down can influence the levels reported by the test.
- Don't exercise for 24 hours before the test, as this may result in an artificially elevated HDL level.
- Alcohol also artificially elevates HDL levels, so avoid alcohol the day before the test.
- Pregnancy can elevate cholesterol levels.
- Maintain your normal eating habits for the two weeks before the test so it will represent your typical levels.
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Test Your Cholesterol Levels
- At-home cholesterol tests are best used to monitor how effective diet and other lifestyle changes are in lowering your total cholesterol.
How a Cholesterol Test Strip Works
- The test strip is coated with a chemical that reacts with the cholesterol in your blood.
How Does a Home Kit Differ From a Test Done Through the Doctor's Office?
- There is an extremely important distinction. At-home test kits only measure the total amount of cholesterol while tests done by your doctor through a clinical laboratory are able to break down your total cholesterol count into low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL) numbers.
- What are HDL and LDL? Cholesterol circulates throughout your blood attached to proteins. Cholesterol can attach itself either to LDL or HDL. Cholesterol that is carried on HDL is known as "good" cholesterol while cholesterol carried on LDL is known as "bad" cholesterol.
- If your at-home test gives you a reading of more than 200 mg/dL, you should obtain a LDL/HDL reading from your doctor. Even if it is under 200 mg/dL, getting an LDL/HDL breakdown is highly recommended.
At-Home Tests Are Just the First Step
- Used tests should be considered biohazards and be disposed of appropriately.
- Hemophiliacs and those taking anticoagulants should not take at-home cholesterol tests because of the danger of excessive or uncontrollable bleeding.
- Cholesterol is more complicated to measure than these tests suggest. Your cholesterol reading can be broken down into LDLs and HDLs, or "bad" and "good" cholesterol.
- Consult a physician for an accurate breakdown of your cholesterol into LDL and HDL measurements.
Determining Your Cholesterol Level
- Wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water.
- After drying your hands, prick a fingertip with the lancet.
- Wipe away the first sign of blood with the gauze pad, lower the hand below the heart, and squeeze the finger to obtain a large drop of blood.
- This drop of blood should be touched to the bottom of the sample well of the test cassette. Add more drops until the black fill-line is completely covered.
- After at least two but no more than four minutes, pull the plastic tab on the right side of the cassette until it clicks into place and a red line appears.
- After another 10 to 12 minutes, when the "End" indicator has changed color, measure the height of the column against the scale printed on the cassette.
- Interpret the results using the chart included in the kit.
- Use only the chart included in the kit, because a chart from another test kit may give an inaccurate result.
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Danger Exists for Some People
- Hemophiliacs and those taking anticoagulants should not use at-home cholesterol tests because of the danger of excessive or uncontrollable bleeding.
Tests Are Not Always Accurate
- Cholesterol is more complicated to measure than these tests suggest. Your cholesterol reading can be broken down into LDLs and HDLs, or "bad" and "good" cholesterol.
- Consult a physician for an accurate breakdown of your cholesterol measurements.
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Websites, Organizations & Manufacturers
Sources & Further Reading
Books
- 1. American Medical Association.The American Medical Association: Family Medical Guide. 3rd Ed. New York: Random House 1994.
- 2. Fauci, Anthony S. et al. Eds. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 14th ed. New York: MacGraw Hill 1998.
- 3. Segen, Joseph, and Joseph Stauffer.The Patient's Guide to Medical Tests: Everything you need to know about the tests your doctor prescribes. New York: Facts on File 1998.
- 4. Zaret, Barry L. Et al. The Yale University School of Medicine Patient's Guide to Medical Tests. New York: Houghton Mifflin 1997.
Find more books on health and wellness at  barnesandnoble.com.
Articles
- 1. Tien, Linda."For many, home is where the test is, but not all tests are created equal". Star Tribune; 8/13/1995.
- 2. MacDonald, Sue."Testing your health at home". Gannett News Service; 8/8/1996.
- 3. Schwade, Steve."What's your number: Three simple steps to get an accurate cholesterol measure". Prevention; Vol. 47 10/1/1995.
- 4. Rubin, Rita."Cholesterol: Round 2". U.S. News & World Report; 6/28/1993.
- 5. Associated Press."Home Cholesterol Kit Feds OK test you do yourself. Newsday; 3/3/1993.
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