A blood test is often part of a routine checkup. An analysis of different components in your blood offers a broad range of information in relation to your health. Specifically, blood test results help evaluate the state of your overall health, indicate how well certain organs are functioning (kidney, liver), check for potential health problems (cancer, diabetes, anemia, heart, thyroid, parathyroid, bone marrow), monitor a pre-existing health condition and assess the effectiveness of some treatments.
The results of a routine blood test is like a window into your inner workings. But because the results tend to be general, further testing is often necessary before a definitive diagnosis of a suspected health condition is made.
As part of a routine analysis, various chemical components of your blood are tested and each given a numerical result. This number is checked against what’s considered a normal range. Ranges are used rather than a specific number because what’s normal differs among individuals and a variety of factors can have an affect as well, such as sex, age, diet and drugs. Also, normal ranges can vary slightly between laboratories.
The following offers information surrounding some components of a basic routine blood test to help you analyze what your results might mean. Although, your test document may have more or less on it than what’s described here. And the annotated health conditions are not a comprehensive list, just some examples of what causes results to fall outside the normal range.
RBC (Red Blood Cell) ~ vital because they carry oxygen around to your cells. A low count may suggest conditions such as anemia, leukemia and malnutrition. While a high one can be due to dehydration, diarrhea and smoking.
MCV is a measurement of the average size of the red blood cells and their volume. An increase may be an indication of vitamin B12 deficiency anemia, whereas a decrease can indicate iron deficiency anemia or rheumatoid arthritis.
Hemoglobin ~ in red blood cells and is primary mechanism for transporting oxygen. A decrease may indicative of anemia, vitamin deficiencies, malabsorption, sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, bone marrow failure, aplastic anemia, cirrhosis or hemolysis.
Hematocrit ~ is the percentage of red blood cells to whole blood. Outside the norm may signal anemia, dehydration, cancer or a bone marrow issue.
WBC (White Blood Cell) ~ measures your body’s preparedness to fight infection. A low count (leukopenia) may be due to a liver problem, radiation or bone marrow issue. A high WBC (leukocytosis) can be caused by an infectious disease, inflammatory disease, stress, anemia and leukemia.
Platelet (thrombocytes) ~ highly involved in stopping blood loss, so when volume is too low excessive bleeding may result and if too high then blood clots and thrombosis are a concern. Not enough platelets (thrombocytopenia) can be caused by an autoimmune disease, kidney failure, bone marrow cancer and certain drugs. The opposite (thrombocytosis) can be simply a matter of living at a high altitude, participating in strenuous exercise, being postpartum or your birth control pills.
MPV Mean platelet volume measures average volume dimensions of platelets. Immune thrombocytopenic purpura and myeloproliferative disorder can affect this result.
Glucose (Blood Sugar) ~ test checks your status in regards to diabetes. If your level is even slightly elevated, then consider taking dietary and other steps (lose weight) to bring it down. Incidence of diabetes is on the rise and this health condition is preventable in most.
Sodium~ an electrolyte that helps maintain water balance in and out your body’s cells, as well as acid-base and electrolyte balance. A low level (hyponatremia) can be caused by excessive water intake, Addison disease, heart failure or kidney problems. A high level (hypernatremia) are seen with Cushing syndrome, kidney disease, high salt diet or failure to drink enough fluids. Other electrolytes on your test may include potassium and chloride, along with bicarbonate (CO2).
BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen) ~ measures a waste product of protein that’s broken down in your liver. Excessive levels can be caused by too much protein intake, kidney damage, insufficient fluid intake or intestinal bleeding. Decreased levels may be due to low protein intake, liver problems or malabsorption. Creatinine is a companion test that also checks kidney and liver function.
Calcium ~ high amount in your blood may indicate a bone disease, parathyroid gland problem or kidney issue.
Albumin ~ a protein that is an antioxidant that offers protection against free radicals, prevents damage by binding to waste products, toxins and dangerous drugs, also helps transport vitamins, minerals and hormones. So, with this component a high number is best.
Alkaline Phosphatase ~ an enzyme that may indicate bone, liver or bile duct disease when high or adrenal gland problem, protein deficiency, zinc deficiency when low.
Iron ~ necessary to make hemoglobin and levels help evaluate for iron deficiency anemia or hemochromatosis.
Triglycerides ~ elevation can be a sign of hypothyroidism, diabetes, kidney disease and inactivity.
Cholesterol ~ desirable is below 200 mg/dL and excessive consumption of cholesterol, saturated fats and trans fats may cause a rise, although genetics may play a role as well.
HDL/LDL ~ LDL is numerical value for “bad cholesterol” and HDL is “good cholesterol”, so you want the good up and the bad down to lower your risk of heart disease.
It’s absolutely amazing what you can discover about your health just from giving up a couple of vials of blood for testing!