Get Your First Cholesterol Blood Test Done At A Hospital
The trouble with elevated cholesterol levels is that they put you at risk of developing heart disease. They can also be a warning that your arteries have begun to harden and thus heart disease and strokes are more likely to occur. What's worse is that there are no early symptoms that can warn you that your level of cholesterol has begun to rise above normal.
Testing Regularly Is In Your Best Interests
In order to learn about your cholesterol levels you would need to undergo a cholesterol blood test. The sooner you are able to know about your cholesterol levels the better it is for you since it can help you take remedial action and thus be in a better position to thwart an impending heart attack. Getting a cholesterol blood test done regularly is in your best interests, especially as it will help you determine the levels of HDL and LDL cholesterol in your blood.
If the results of your cholesterol blood test show that your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels are around the two hundred mg/dl mark and the HDL (good) cholesterol levels are at least forty mg/dl, then you need not be worried. You can get your cholesterol blood test done at a hospital though if you wish to do it at home, and then you can make use of home test kits.
It is better for you to get the cholesterol blood test done in a hospital since the results will be quicker. In case the results of your cholesterol blood test indicate that your LDL cholesterol is high, then you will need to consult a doctor about how best to lower the levels.
Mostly, you may only need to change your diet in order to control LDL cholesterol and also do some exercises and in case you also suffer from diabetes, and then you may need to take certain medications that help in lowering LDL cholesterol. In any case, doctors do recommend that a person more than twenty years old must get a cholesterol blood test done once every five years.
You can do subsequent cholesterol blood tests at home by using home cholesterol test kits though to be on the safe side, you should also get a test done at the doctor's lab to be doubly certain that your home test readings are accurate and that you are not basing your treatment methods on inaccurate readings.
