Can You Check Triglycerides At Home

Who Should Not Take The Cholesterol Test

The test is not or only partially suitable for certain groups of people:

People with infectious diseases, like hepatitis and HIV, may not use the Cholesterol Test.

People with haemophilia should not take the test.

Pregnant and breastfeeding women should only take the Cholesterol Test under medical supervision. The given reference ranges and recommendations do not apply to people in this group consult your medical professional for advice concerning your test results.

The Cholesterol Test is not intended for children under 18 years of age.

The test is not intended for diagnosing illnesses or disease. For example, if you suffer from depression or are in physical pain, consult a doctor.

What Happens During A Triglycerides Test

During the test, a health care professional will take a blood sample from a vein in your arm, using a small needle. After the needle is inserted, a small amount of blood will be collected into a test tube or vial. You may feel a little sting when the needle goes in or out. This usually takes less than five minutes.

Whats Behind The New Recommendation

This change has been coming for some time. It is driven by data from a dozen-plus studies that include more than 300,000 people whose cholesterol and other lipids were measured when they hadnt fasted. Their levels predicted cardiovascular risk, as well as, or possibly better than, fasting lipid levels.

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Benefits And Downsides Of At

It is important to consider the possible pros and cons of at-home cholesterol testing to determine if it is the right choice for you.

Some of the main benefits of at-home cholesterol tests include:

• Convenience: At-home cholesterol testing allows you to take the test according to your own schedule and without having to make an appointment or go to a medical office or laboratory.
• Fingerstick blood sample: The blood sample for at-home tests comes from pricking your fingertip with a tiny needle instead of a typical blood draw that takes a sample from a vein in your arm.
• Supplementing doctor-ordered testing: At-home testing may be useful for people who want to check their cholesterol in the time between tests ordered by their physician.
• Transparent pricing: For most at-home cholesterol tests, the total price is clearly displayed and prepaid at the outset.
• Several test options: Because multiple types of at-home tests are available, you can choose the one that best suits your preferences and budget.

Some of the potential drawbacks of at-home cholesterol testing include:

Why Take A Cholesterol And Lipids Test

Having a combined cholesterol and lipids test is one of the most common ways to assess your overall heart health. High levels of cholesterol and lipids have been shown to increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease. Monitoring your blood cholesterol and controlling high cholesterol levels can be key to reducing your risk for these disorders. This mail-in cholesterol test kit evaluates the four key components of a lipid panel: total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein , calculated low-density lipoprotein , and triglycerides.

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How Can You Tell If Your Cholesterol Is High Without A Test

High cholesterol does not cause any symptoms. The only way a person can find out if they have high cholesterol is through a test.

However, risk factors include having overweight, not exercising regularly, eating fatty foods, and drinking and smoking. High cholesterol may also have a genetic component and run in families.

Are There Any Symptoms Associated With A High Level Of Triglycerides

Usually, most people with high triglyceride levels have no symptoms and the only means of discovering a high level is with blood tests. However, in rare cases, a person may have an extremely high level of triglycerides sustained over time and the individual may experience repeated bouts of acute pancreatitis. Some of the signs and symptoms include pain in the upper half of the stomach area that develops suddenly and then gradually gets worse, fever, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes jaundice. A person with severely high levels may also develop lesions on the skin called xanthomas. These typically appear as several small, round, solid, yellow bumps mostly on the back, chest, buttocks, shoulders and thighs.

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Why Would I Need This Test

You might need this test if your doctor wants to assess your risk of developing heart disease. It is usually recommended every 5 years for people who are over 45 . If you have other risk factors for heart disease such as high blood pressure or diabetes, you will need the lipid test more regularly.

Best Budget Test: Selfcheck Cholesterol Test Kit

Courtesy of Amazon

• Budget-friendly price and easy to use

• Provides results quickly in under 5 minutes

• Can incur user error with manual analysis

• Results limited to 5 mmol/L range

In the realm of more basic, manual cholesterol testing kits, SELFCheck is a great option. This single-use test can report your total cholesterol in a matter of three minutes. Its simple to use, known for its accuracy, and it can provide a helpful data point for people who recently began keeping track of their blood cholesterol.

The packet contains a test card, a lancet, and a plaster. Its ideal for adults over the age of 40 seeking a clear indicator of their current cardiovascular health so they can be more proactive with medical interventions that will get them on track and help them stay there. If the test produces a result outside of the 5 mmol/L range, consult with your doctor for a full blood lipid panel and their advice on how to better manage your blood cholesterol.

Price at time of publish: $20

Test Type: Manual cholesterol test | Type of Cholesterol Measured: Total cholesterol | Result Speed: 3 minutes

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When Should You See A Doctor

Because high triglyceride levels usually do not cause any symptoms, theyre typically spotted when a doctor orders a blood test that includes a lipid panel.

If you do not have high risk factors, including health conditions and some lifestyle factors, a doctor will order a lipid panel every few years to check cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

If your lipid panel results show above normal triglyceride levels, a doctor may suggest lifestyle changes focused on diet and exercise. If diet and exercise do not have the desired effect, they may recommend medication such as statins or fibrates.

How Do They Work

Many home cholesterol tests can measure total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides from a blood sample. Some also measure LDL cholesterol. These tests can be purchased online or at your local pharmacy.

There are three basic types that work in different ways:

• Test strips: These involve paper test strips that you read visually. You add a drop of blood from a finger prick and read the color change after several minutes.
• Electronic meters: This type requires purchasing a small analyzer that is similar to a glucose meter. After placing a drop of blood on a test strip, the strip is inserted into the analyzer for a reading.
• Mail-in tests: The third type of test requires sending a blood sample to a laboratory where health professionals do the analysis. You have to wait for them to contact you with your results.

If you decide to use a mail-in service, opt for labs that are part of the Cholesterol Reference Method Laboratory Network certified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . You can also check online to see if the lab is on the CDC-certified list.

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How Long Can You Go Without Food For A Triglyceride Test

Typically for a fasting triglyceride test, youll be asked to go without food for 8 to 10 hours. You can drink water while in a fasting state. Your nonfasting triglyceride levels are typically higher than your fasting levels. They can vary greatly depending on how recently youve consumed dietary fat.

How are triglycerides measured if you are not fasting?

To check for abnormal triglyceride levels in the blood, your doctor will often use a cholesterol test. This test is also called a lipid panel or lipid profile. Triglycerides can be measured after fasting or when youre not fasting. Typically for a fasting triglyceride test, youll be asked to go without food for 8 to 10 hours.

Best For Lower Budgets: Everlywell Cholesterol & Lipids Test

Everlywell offers a finger prick sample collection that measures:

• total cholesterol levels

After purchasing the home kit, a person can register it on the Everlywell website. There, they need to include their orders identification number. Then, once they collect their sample, they can send it to one of the Everlywell testing facilities.

The company claims that it works with laboratories with CLIA certification.

People should receive their results through the Everlywell online platform. They may also receive tips and additional resources to help them understand their results.

Price: A test kit costs $49.

A person may wish to consider the advantages and disadvantages of this test.

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Questions For Your Doctor After At

After you have taken an at-home cholesterol test, you can review your results with your doctor and raise some of the following questions:

• What are my target levels for different kinds of cholesterol?
• Were any of my cholesterol levels abnormal?
• How do the levels on my at-home test compare to any prior cholesterol tests in my health record?
• Do you recommend any further cholesterol testing? If so, what tests should I take and how often should I take them?
• Should I consider any treatments or lifestyle changes related to my cardiovascular health?

What If Triglycerides Test Levels Are High

There are many causes of high triglycerides, which include inhertiable traits, having a high fat or high sugar diet, high intake of alcohol, obesity and diabetes.

Healthier lifestyle changes to consider include:

• Try to lower the saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol in your diet. Cutting back on carbohydrates should help too.
• Eating more oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, tuna and salmon which are high in omega-3s, a fat thats good for you. It may be hard to get enough omega-3s from food so you can also consider supplements.
• Increased exercise & weight loss. If youre carrying extra pounds, especially around your belly, losing 5% to 10% of your weight can lower triglycerides.
• Reduced alcohol consumption. Not only is alcohol high in sugar and calories, it can have a significant effect on your triglyceride levels.

If these steps are insufficient your doctor may prescribe drugs to help reduce your triglyceride levels.

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What Is A Home Cholesterol Test

A home cholesterol test is a DIY medical screening that claims to be as accurate as traditional lab screenings. It measures your cholesterol levels and compares them to the accepted range. The process of determining your total cholesterol level includes testing various biomarkers which together help determine if you are at a higher risk of contracting heart disease, stroke or other severe conditions that are associated with abnormal cholesterol levels.

A complete cholesterol test is known as a lipid panel or lipid profile. With a complete test, you will be able to measure the amount of good and bad cholesterol in your blood and also know your triglycerides level, a type of fat, in your blood.

If any of your numbers are outside the healthy range, you are considered to have high cholesterol.

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Are They Better Than Lab Tests

At-home cholesterol tests¹ are typically not better than lab tests. Some of the more expensive ones are similar to the ones your doctor may use, but they should only be used as a guideline. Many brands of at-home cholesterol tests will discuss their tests being better.

Without expert guidance on how to properly do one of these tests, the results can sometimes be skewed. One issue with at-home tests is overloading the test with too much blood, which can throw off results.

When using these tests, it is important to remember they are a guide. They are not as complex as tests you may get in a lab, which can give you a larger picture of your cardiovascular health.

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Healthy cholesterol levels are a key component of cardiovascular wellness. The American Heart Association recommends getting tested every four to six years beginning at age 20a blood lipid panel includes your total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein , low-density lipoprotein , and triglycerides. The good news is that there is a myriad of cholesterol tests that you can take at home.

When Is It Ordered

Adults

A lipid profile, which includes triglycerides, is recommended every 4 to 6 years to evaluate risk of heart disease in healthy adults. Children should have a lipid profile screening at least once between the ages of 9 and 11 and once again between the ages of 17 and 21.

Testing may be ordered more frequently when people have identified risk factors for heart disease. Some risk factors for heart disease include:

• Cigarette smoking

• Acceptable: Less than 90 mg/dL
• Borderline high: 90-129 mg/dL
• High: Greater than 130 mg/dL

For young adults older than 19

• Acceptable: Less than 115 mg/dL
• Borderline high: 115-149 mg/dL
• High: Greater than 150 mg/dL

Note: These values are based on fasting triglyceride levels.

When triglycerides are very high ), there is a risk of developing pancreatitis in children and adults. Treatment to lower triglycerides should be started as soon as possible.

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Are Test Results Accurate

Cholesterol testing is common and generally dependable as part of cardiovascular risk assessment. Like any medical testing, though, cholesterol tests are not perfect.

When properly performed, at-home cholesterol self-tests can be about as accurate as laboratory lab tests conducted with a blood draw. However, products that are poorly manufactured or that provide inadequate instructions may suffer from reductions in accuracy.

For both in-lab and at-home cholesterol measurement, certain issues can influence the accuracy of the test:

• Individual factors: Small fluctuations in cholesterol levels can be related to stress or your physical posture during the test.
• Active illness: Inflammation related to various types of illness can change cholesterol levels, affecting the short-term reliability of cholesterol measurements.
• LDL-C calculations: Standard cholesterol testing usually calculates LDL-C levels based on the other measurements. The formulas for these calculations can lead to inaccurate results in people who have very high triglyceride levels.

For any questions about the accuracy of specific at-home tests, you can ask the test provider for available documentation related to the testing method and results accuracy. Your doctor can also discuss any factors in your case that could affect cholesterol test results.

When To Contact A Doctor

People who receive a positive cholesterol test result should consider seeking medical advice. A doctor can help a person interpret their results and suggest the most suitable treatment plan.

Doctors may recommend making lifestyle changes, such as getting more exercise, reaching or maintaining a moderate weight, and following a balanced diet.

Also, a doctor

Below are answers to common questions about testing cholesterol at home.

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What To Think About

• Chylomicrons are another type of lipoprotein that are measured in a different test. Chylomicrons are in the blood and carry fat from your intestine to your liver. They carry triglycerides to your muscles for immediate use. Or they carry triglycerides to fat tissue for storage.
• Having a high cholesterol level increases your chances of having a heart attack. The higher your cholesterol, the greater your chances. An elevated total cholesterol level in younger people is particularly significant, since the narrowing of the coronary arteries usually takes many years to develop.
• Lifestyle changes may help lower blood cholesterol levels and increase HDL cholesterol. Some people have better responses to diet and lifestyle changes than do others. Lifestyle changes might include:
• Quitting smoking.
• Eating healthier by reducing saturated fats and cholesterol in the diet while increasing fibre and complex carbohydrate.
• Losing weight. An improvement may occur if you lose as little as 2.5 kg to 5 kg .
• Being active on most, preferably all, days of the week.

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