Article Sphere Logo
 

Cholesterol Tests - When Do You Need A Cholesterol Test?

By Expert Author: Christy Berger | Article Abstract
Word Count: 278 words | Views: 215 view(s)
Learning the signs and symptoms that could save your life.

Cholesterol is different than any other condition. When you are given a cholesterol test, you are not being tested for a disease; rather, youâ€re being tested for your likelihood of developing a disease. That disease in particular is heart disease.

A test for high cholesterol would be considered a preventative test, as it is testing to see if you run the risk of developing hardened arteries or having a heart attack.

Cholesterol signs tests can be performed at home. You can even buy special kits that making the testing process a breeze. They work by taking a small blood sample and then testing that sample for the total amount of cholesterol. There is also a cholesterol test that detects the amounts of total cholesterol and the amount of HDL or good cholesterol in the blood. These tests offer a more accurate reading.

So, how do you know if it is time to have a cholesterol test? There are some high cholesterol symptoms, but it is usually completely undetectable without a blood test. A family history of high cholesterol is a good indictor of your likelihood of having it as well.

Also, if you eat a diet high in saturated fats, you are also likely to have high cholesterol. In general, family history is enough to make it smart to have a cholesterol test.

Once you start experiencing symptoms, like chest pain or shortness of breath, you already most likely have heart disease. The time to treat high cholesterol is now, before it spirals out of control and takes your health with it!

With a cholesterol test, you can literally save your life.
Christy Berger

About the Author/Author Bio

The article is prepared by Christy Berger who writes for Testcountry.com.Some information about this article is taken from these resources: Instant Total Cholesterol Test Kit Longer Version of Article can be found at Cholesterol Tests

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Cholesterol-Tests---When-Do-You-Need-A-Cholesterol-Test-/47951

Article Submitted: 2006-08-30 | This Article has been viewed 215 times.

Related Videos

When to Test Your Cholesterol
Symptoms of High Cholesterol
Cholesterol and Dairy Products
How to Medicate High-Cholesterol
How to Lower Cholesterol
 

More "Cholesterol" Related Articles

 
 

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Cholesterol" article category.

People interested in the above article "Cholesterol Tests - When Do You Need A Cholesterol Test?" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

 
High Cholesterol is a very common diagnosis by doctors nowadays when dealing with patients. Cholesterol has been identified as to increase the risk of heart diseases. But what is Cholesterol at all? Cholesterol is a substance produced by the human liver. The body produces Cholesterol to build up acids that help with the digestion of fat that we eat with our meals.
Statins are known currently to be by far the most effective medications for the lowering of high blood cholesterol levels. However this comes with a price. The usage of statins may be accompanied by statin side effects such as muscle damage, liver damage and gastrointestinal symptoms. The degree of damage, however is usually mild and reversible by discontinuation of the drug.
Cholesterol lowering foods are foods that are low in dietary cholesterol, but also low in saturated fat. Saturated fat is the key because it affects your cholesterol level far more than dietary cholesterol. Saturated fats can produce as much as 4 times more cholesterol in your blood than dietary cholesterol.
Are you suffering with high blood cholesterol level? In addition to proper medication, diet also plays an important role in lowering high cholesterol. As soon as high cholesterol levels are found in someone without heart disease, they should begin a diet recommended by the American Heart Association that states a person should consume less than 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol per day. They should also limit saturated fats to 10 per cent or less of total calories and normal fats 30 per cent or less of total calories.
The right grains for breakfast may have an important contribution to the blood sugar regulation after meals because certain grain products may have indigestible carbohydrates and a low glycemic index (GI), according to a dissertation from the Lund University.
A high cholesterol level has been linked with a number of diseases. There are many factors that contribute to the increase in cholesterol level. The most prominent among them is to following a diet that is high in saturated fat. Prolonged intake of fat foods, lack of exercises, smoking and drinking habits can contribute to the unhealthy increase of LDL (bad cholesterol).
Unhealthy lifestyle, obesity, improper diet and food intake are the major factors responsible for high cholesterol levels. There are mainly two types of cholesterol – LDL (bad cholesterol) and HDL (good cholesterol). When there is excess of LDL in a person's blood, it will build up in the inner walls of his arteries which can end up causing the blocking of the arteries and thus causes atherosclerosis. Whereas, when there is a high amount of HDL present, it will actually aid in preventing heart attacks, though when the level of HDL is low, it can put the person at risk of experiencing a heart attack.
 
Article Directory Home All Categories Health And Fitness Cholesterol
 

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!
 
Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.

Afrikaans Albanian Arabic Belarusian Bulgarian Catalan Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czech Danish German English Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Irish Italiano Japanese Korean Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Malay Maltese Dutch Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swahili Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese Welsh Yiddish