Reading Blood Test Results
Blood tests are done the world over to detect everything from risk to heart diseases to finding traces of illicit drugs in the system. It is not always easy for a lay person to understand the technical terms referred to in the blood report.
It is always better to ask the primary health care provider to help in reading the result. Some of the important terms of reference are:
Blood Fat or cholesterol testing is one of the most common types of blood test that is done to determine the risk for heart disease. The main focus is on good cholesterol levels (HDL) and bad cholesterol levels (LDL). The normal cholesterol level should read less than 200 and if it is above 160, then the physician prescribes a strict diet and cholesterol lowering medication.
Triglycerides are most of the times tested along with the blood fat. If these are found in high concentration in the blood, they may lead to heart disease and pancreatitis. Normal triglycerides level is under 150 mg/dl and if it exceeds beyond 500 mg/dl, then it may result in a high risk for heart disease and requires immediate action to bring it down.
Complete Blood Count measures the currently active blood cells in the patient’s body which includes the RBC and WBC as well as platelets. Normal WBC count is from 4,500 to 1,000. High WBC implies an infection or in some rare cases leukemia. The normal range for RBC is 4.5- 5.9 million/mm3 for men and 4.0-5.3 million/mm3 for women. Low blood cell count can mean a bone marrow problem or in rare cases an HIV/AIDS infection. Normal platelet values range between 150,000-350,000. Even though the platelet count below 150,000 is considered low, yet people can survive without the threat of internal bleeding. |
