Lipid profile blood test

What Does a Lipid Panel Measure? As stated, when you have a lipid panel, there are several notable measurements. The results of your lipid panel are an important component in allowing your doctor to assess your cardiovascular health and risk. Other factors that are taken into account when determining your risk include your blood pressure, weight, exercise levels, and the presence of medical conditions such as diabetes. • Total cholesterol: The total cholesterol represents the total of all the cholesterol being carried by all the major lipoproteins in your blood. This measurement is generally not as useful in assessing your cardiovascular risk as the other cholesterol measurements made in the lipid panel. • LDL: LDL cholesterol is often called “bad” cholesterol because it’s the source of buildup and blockages in the arteries. Typically, there’s an elevation of health risks when these are too high. • HDL: In contrast to LDL, you generally want higher levels of HDL, or “good” cholesterol. The HDL lipoprotein helps clear cholesterol from the bloodstream and takes it to the liver. • VLDL: Another type is VLDL cholesterol, a precursor to LDL that comes directly from food you eat. This type contributes to plaque buildup in the arteries and is considered “very bad.” • Non-HDL: The HDL score is subtracted from the total cholesterol measure to assess levels of the bad cholesterols, LDL and VLDL. • Triglyceride: Triglycerides are fats in the bloodstream that come from food. High trig...

Does this test have other names? Lipid profile, lipoprotein profile What is this test? This group of tests measures the amount of cholesterol and other fats in your blood. Cholesterol and triglycerides are lipids, or fats. These fats are important for cell health, but they can be harmful when they build up in the blood. Sometimes they can lead to clogged, inflamed arteries, a condition call atherosclerosis. This may keep your heart from working normally if the arteries of your heart muscle are affected. This panel of tests helps predict your risk for heart disease and stroke. A lipid panel measures these fats: • Total cholesterol • LDL ("bad") cholesterol • HDL ("good") cholesterol • Triglycerides, another type of fat that causes hardening of the arteries Why do I need this test? You may need this panel of tests if you have a family history of heart disease or stroke. You may also have this test if your healthcare provider believes you're at risk for heart disease. These are risk factors: • High blood pressure • Diabetes or prediabetes • Overweight or obesity • Smoking • Lack of exercise • Diet of unhealthy foods • Stress • High total cholesterol If you are already being treated for heart disease, you may have this test to see whether treatment is working. What other tests might I have along with this test? Your healthcare provider may also order other tests to look at how well your heart is working. These tests may include: • Electrocardiogram, or ECG, which tests your he...

Many healthcare experts recommend that everyone have their cholesterol levels checked every 5 years or so, even more frequently if you are at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. This standard blood test can help identify a buildup of Besides the standard tests, though, there is another type of test: an advanced cholesterol test. This can detect smaller cholesterol particles in your bloodstream that standard testing cannot currently recognize. In this article, you’ll learn about what an advanced cholesterol test can show, who might need this kind of test, and what to expect from this kind of cholesterol test. A • • • • • Unlike standard lipid panels, an advanced cholesterol test can detect smaller particles of LDL that may not show up on the standard test. These smaller particles may be present in people with a low LDL level on a standard test, but they can still pose problems, as they can more easily invade the walls of your arteries to form plaques. Your healthcare professional may order an advanced lipid panel in addition to your regular testing, but the advanced screening doesn’t require fasting beforehand. Some of the most common elements included in an advanced cholesterol test check for: • apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I) • apolipoprotein B (apoB) • lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) • LDL particle number (LDL-P) and size • HDL particle numbers and sizes Some health specialists suggest that people get advanced cholesterol testing regularly. But this testing is not a...

A lipid panel is a blood test that measures the levels of fats in your blood called triglycerides and cholesterol. Generally, a lipid panel measures: • total cholesterol • • • This test goes by many alternative names, such as: • lipid profile • lipoprotein profile • lipid test • coronary risk panel High triglycerides, high LDL cholesterol, and low HDL cholesterol are associated with a higher risk of The optimal values in a lipid panel depend on your age and gender. Keep reading to learn more about the optimal range and what might influence your results. Some lipid tests require fasting, meaning you shouldn’t eat or drink anything other than water before your test, while others don’t. Your doctor will tell you whether you need to fast and how long before your test you should stop eating. Not following your doctor’s instructions can lead to inaccurate results. Some medications may influence your results as well, so it’s important to tell your doctor about any medications you’re currently taking before your test. Being sick or under high stress may also influence your results. A lipid panel is used to measure your cardiovascular health. Your doctor may recommend taking a lipid panel to: • screen for • monitor your lipid levels if a previous test showed abnormalities or if you have other heart disease risk factors • measure your response to treatment if you started taking medications or have made lifestyle changes to lower your lipids • diagnose certain medical conditions invo...

Your blood may offer many clues about your heart health. For example, high levels of "bad" cholesterol in your blood can be a sign that you're at increased risk of having a heart attack. And other substances in your blood can help your health care provider determine if you have heart failure or are at risk of developing fatty deposits (plaques) in your arteries (atherosclerosis). A cholesterol test, also called a lipid panel or lipid profile, measures the fats in the blood. The measurements can help determine the risk of having a heart attack or other heart disease. The test typically includes measurements of: • Total cholesterol. This is the amount of the blood's cholesterol content. A high level can increase the risk of heart disease. Ideally, the total cholesterol level should be below 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or 5.2 millimoles per liter (mmol/L). • Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. This is sometimes called the "bad" cholesterol. Too much LDL cholesterol in the blood causes plaque to buildup in the arteries, which reduces blood flow. These plaque deposits sometimes rupture and lead to major heart and blood vessel problems. The LDL cholesterol level should be less than 130 mg/dL (3.4 mmol/L). Desirable levels are under 100 mg/dL (2.6 mmol/L), especially if you have diabetes or a history of heart attack, a heart stent, heart bypass surgery, or other heart or vascular condition. In people with the highest risk of heart attacks, the recommended LDL leve...

Patient should be on a stable diet, ideally for two to three weeks prior to collection of blood. Fasting is not necessary for this profile, however, fasting (12 to 14 hours preferred; eight hours acceptable) prior to collection of the specimen is recommended where the triglyceride value provides a prior diagnostic information such as screening for familial hypercholesterolemia or early onset heart disease, pancreatitis, or confirming hypertriglyceridemia. Patients with obstructive liver disease may develop lipoprotein abnormalities. Serum lipid factors have not been demonstrated to have a strong influence on recurrent stenosis following coronary angioplasty, the pathogenesis of which is presently not well understood. LDL cholesterol cannot be calculated if triglyceride is >800 mg/dL. Investigation of serum lipids is indicated in those with coronary and other arterial disease, especially when it is premature, and in those with family history of atherosclerosis or of hyperlipidemia. In this sense, the expression “premature” is mostly used to include those younger than 40 years of age. Patients with xanthomas should be worked up with lipid panels but not those with xanthelasmas or xanthofibromas in the sense of dermatofibromas. Those whose fasting serum is lipemic should have a lipid panel, but the serum of a subject with high cholesterol (but normal triglyceride) is not milky in appearance. The patient with high cholesterol (>240 mg/dL) should have a lipid panel. Patients wi...

If you've been keeping an eye on your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, there's something else you might need to monitor: your triglycerides. Having a high level of triglycerides in your blood can increase your risk of heart disease. But the same lifestyle choices that promote overall health can help lower your triglycerides, too. A simple blood test can reveal whether your triglycerides fall into a healthy range: • Normal — Less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or less than 1.7 millimoles per liter (mmol/L) • Borderline high — 150 to 199 mg/dL (1.8 to 2.2 mmol/L) • High — 200 to 499 mg/dL (2.3 to 5.6 mmol/L) • Very high — 500 mg/dL or above (5.7 mmol/L or above) High triglycerides are often a sign of other conditions that increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, including obesity and metabolic syndrome — a cluster of conditions that includes too much fat around the waist, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, high blood sugar and abnormal cholesterol levels. High triglycerides can also be a sign of: • Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes • Metabolic syndrome — a condition when high blood pressure, obesity and high blood sugar occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease • Low levels of thyroid hormones (hypothyroidism) • Certain rare genetic conditions that affect how your body converts fat to energy Sometimes high triglycerides are a side effect of taking certain medications, such as: • Diuretics • Estrogen and progestin • Retinoids • Steroids ...

A doctor may recommend fasting beginning in the evening before a cholesterol test, especially if you take statins. Some people may not need to fast. Cholesterol is a fatty material that’s produced by your body and found in certain foods. While your body needs some cholesterol in order to function properly, having too much, or high cholesterol, raises your risk of a heart attack or stroke. Because of this risk, knowing your cholesterol levels is an important part of good heart health. The People with known high cholesterol levels or other chronic health conditions should get tested more often. To prepare for a cholesterol test, you may have heard that you should fast, or avoid eating. But is fasting really necessary? The answer is maybe. The truth is, your cholesterol can be tested without fasting. In the past, experts believed fasting ahead of time produces the most accurate results. This is because your low-density lipoproteins (LDL) — also known as “bad” cholesterol — may be affected by what you’ve recently eaten. Your levels of triglycerides (another type of fat in your blood) may also be affected by a recent meal. New guidelines, published in the Your doctor may recommend fasting before having your cholesterol checked. If they say you should fast, they’ll likely suggest that you avoid eating for 9 to 12 hours before your test. For this reason, cholesterol tests are often scheduled in the morning. That way, you don’t have to spend a whole day hungry while waiting to hav...