Keeping A Healthy Cholesterol Level
By Cindy
High levels can be a sign of potential heart disease. High levels of HDL can be a warning sign of hardening of arteries that can result in heart disease or a heart attack. Even though high is a very serious and fatal condition, there are no symptoms to warn you if you are having high levels.

To know your levels you must take a test. As high levels can be life threatening, and coronary heart disease is a common occurrence when you have high levels of bad you should get a test regularly.

Cholesterol is made of two main types: HDL, or the good which actually helps prevent heart disease and LDL or bad which will clog your arteries and cause heart disease if present in high levels in your body. The right level of should be 200mg/dl of LDL or less and at least a minimum of 40mg/dL of HDL or more.

Cholesterol test is done through a blood test that will tell you the levels of both types of in your body. This test can be done at the hospital. There are also home test kits for testing available. However, tests done in the hospital are more reliable and you should go to the hospital for your first test.

If your test result show that your bad level is too high, your doctor can advise you on how to lower it. He will probably advise you to change your diet and do more exercise. If you levels are very high or you have other medical condition like diabetes, he may prescribe you with lowering medication. Most doctors recommend that anyone over the age of 20 should take a test once every five years.

The Test Kit

Today there is a way to test your levels without having to leave your home. A home test kit can be purchased from any drug store. This home test kit consists of the tools required to conduct an accurate test. With only a couple drops of your blood you will be able to tell the levels present in your body in ten minutes time.

The home test kit is FDA approved and is available over the counter for you to purchase and use when needed. It has a 97% accuracy rate and is very easy. The home test kit cost about $25 for a pack of two test kits. Some test kits are sold with only one test strip but the two tests package is more economical. Everyone who wants or needs to keep check their level regularly without having to go to a hospital can use the handy test kit.

Home Test Kit May Not Always Be Accurate

Although nowadays you can get all kinds of home kits for many medical problems, some of the results from the tests carried out by these kits may not be very accurate. However, the fault may not lie with the test kit itself, but it may lie in the way it is used. The home test kit too seldom gives accurate results because it is usually administered wrongly.

That is the reason why doctors do not like to rely on the results of home test. If you go for treatment for high level, your doctor will ask you to take another test from the lab. The doctor will only proceed with treatment after they get the lab tests results.

The home test kit may be useful if you can get your a physician to administer it for you. This is so that after the test is done, he can interpret the results for you. This is why it is better to take a lab test rather than simply buying a home test.

Any home test done with a home test kit should be repeated in the doctor's lab for double confirmation, so that if your home test results are actually not accurate, you will know it before you undergo any form of lowering treatment.

If you do prefer a home test kit than going to the hospital for a test, you should still consult your doctor and have the test repeated before taking any form of drugs or medications.