Cholesterol  Test

£8.99

High quality CE marked Cholesterol Test Kit. This is a branded product manufactured in the EEC not a cheap generic import.

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More about cholesterol:

Many people are surprised to learn that actually we all need Cholesterol to build cells, insulate nerves, and produce hormones and vitamin D, all of which are vital to health and wellbeing.

So then why is having high cholesterol a bad thing? Cholesterol is manufactured in the liver and either remains there, or is released into the bloodstream. Just as oil and water don’t mix, cholesterol will not dissolve in the blood on its own, so it becomes attached to special particles called lipoproteins. The two main types of lipoprotein are low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which carries cholesterol from the liver to the other cells in the body, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which returns excess cholesterol from the cells to the liver.

The dangers of LDL

LDL is known as “bad” cholesterol because it tends to be deposited in the lining of the arteries. This in turn causes atherosclerosis, in which the arteries to become narrowed, restricting the blood flow and hence the supply of oxygen and other vital nutrients. The consequences of atherosclerosis depend on its location. Atherosclerosis in an artery supplying the heart can lead to chest pain (angina) and ultimately, to a heart attack. Atherosclerosis in the arteries leading to the brain can cause a stroke or mini-stroke (transient ischemic attack) while in the leg arteries, the condition can cause pain when walking (claudication) and even gangrene.

Know your numbers

HDL, on the other hand, is known as “good” cholesterol because it extracts cholesterol from the artery walls and returns it to the liver. Thus, high levels of HDL help protect against atherosclerosis and counteract the damage done by LDL. That’s why doctors will measure levels of both HDL and LDL cholesterol in the blood, as the balance between the two substances is vital. Indeed, many experts now recommend that all adults should have their cholesterol checked once every five years. Ideally, a “lipoprotein profile” will be performed – this is a blood test done after a 9–12-hour fast and gives information about total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides (another form of fat in the bloodstream). The results of a lipoprotein profile are used to indicate the person’s risk of heart disease, and to guide the need for treatment; the figures are interpreted below:

Classification of lipids

Each personss lipid levels need to be interpreted individually, taking into consideration their age, gender, and whether they have any other characteristics that raise their risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). These so-called “risk factors” include cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, a family history of early heart disease, overweight and obesity, and physical inactivity. Another important factor to consider is whether the patient already has clinical manifestations of heart disease – for example, chest pain or a previous heart attack.

Calculating the risk

Doctors often use simple computer programs to calculate whether cholesterol-lowering treatment would benefit a particular patient – and if so, what LDL cholesterol level to aim for. One such “risk calculator” is based on the Adult Treatment Program III guidelines issued by the National Cholesterol Education Program of the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and is available online at http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/atpiii/calculator.asp?usertype=prof. This calculator uses figures derived from the Framingham Heart Study, a famous study of residents of Framingham, Massachusetts, which showed that the higher a person’s cholesterol level, the more likely they were to develop CVD.

Why treat high cholesterol?

The main goal of treating high cholesterol is to reduce the risk of developing CVD in people who are otherwise healthy, and to prevent further illness and death in those who have already suffered a heart attack or stroke. The effectiveness of this approach has been proven in numerous clinical trials conducted in recent years. For instance, a 1995 study called the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study (WOSCOPS) found that men with high cholesterol could prevent heart attacks and death by following a low-fat diet and taking a cholesterol-lowering drug known as a statin. Another study, the Air Force/Texas Coronary Atherosclerosis Prevention Study (AFCAPS/TexCAPS), focused on people with fairly normal cholesterol levels and no heart disease. By following a low-fat diet and taking a statin, these men and women were able to dramatically cut their likelihood of developing CVD or suffering a heart attack. Very recently, the Heart Protection Study, which involved more than 20,000 men and women at high risk of CVD, reinforced the benefits of taking a statin. In this study, people who took a statin were far less likely than those who took a matching dummy pill (placebo) to suffer a heart attack, stroke, or die from CVD.

Healthy options

For people with mildly elevated cholesterol, it may be possible to lower levels through simple lifestyle changes, such as losing excess weight, taking more exercise, and following a low-fat diet. This can be more complicated than it sounds: Not all dietary fats are bad for you, and the amount of cholesterol you eat is not strongly related to cholesterol levels in the blood. Instead, a tendency to having high cholesterol is largely an inherited characteristic that is aggravated by eating too much saturated fat. High cholesterol can also be a consequence of other medical conditions such as diabetes, liver or kidney disease, or an underactive thyroid. Rarely, it is due to a genetic condition called familial hypercholesterolemia in which LDL levels are markedly elevated from birth, resulting in heart attacks at an early age.

All fats are not bad?

Four types of fat are found in foods (see below); to keep cholesterol levels in check, doctors advise that you should aim to minimize your intake of saturated and trans fats, and replace them with unsaturated fats and fiber. Remember that your body can make all the cholesterol it needs from other sources so there is no danger of eating too little. 

Cholesterol-lowering medications

For many people, eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly will lower LDL and raise HDL levels, but not by enough to prevent the development of CVD. These individuals are candidates for drug therapy, and there are several types of medications that can further lower LDL cholesterol levels. The most widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs are statins. Five different statins are currently available and all lower total and LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and raise HDL cholesterol, albeit by different amounts. Statins are highly effective and well tolerated in the vast majority of patients.

Other drugs may also be used instead of, or in conjunction with, statins to further reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels, such as bile acid sequestrants (also known as resins), fibrates, and nicotinic acids.

By making healthy lifestyle changes, and taking cholesterol-lowering medications under your doctor’s careful guidance, you can be sure that you are giving yourself the best chance of a life free from atherosclerosis and CVD