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10 most important tests that people
over age 40 should take each year:
1. Complete
Blood Count (CBC) - The best place to begin disease-prevention
is the CBC's. This panel will give you a snapshot of your overall
health. It provides a broad range of diagnostic information to
assess your vascular, liver, kidney, and blood cell status. The
CBC's measures the number, variety, percentage, concentration, and
quality of platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells,
and is useful in screening for infections, anemias, and other
abnormalities.
2. The Chemistry Panel provides information
on the status of your cardiovascular system by testing lipids (cholesterol,
HDL, LDL, triglycerides, and the total
cholesterol/HDL ratio). It also measures blood
glucose, which is critically important for detecting diabetes.
In light of the rapidly growing epidemic of diabetes, monitoring
your fasting glucose levels is as important as knowing your cholesterol.
Also included in the Panel is an assessment of
critical minerals such as calcium, potassium, and iron, as well
as electrolytes, liver functions, and the kidney panel.
3. Fibrinogen - An
important contributor to blood clotting, fibrinogen levels increase
in response to tissue inflammation. Since atherosclerosis
and heart disease are essentially inflammatory processes, increased
fibrinogen levels can help predict the risk of heart disease and
stroke. High fibrinogen levels not only are associated with an
increased risk of heart attack, but also are seen in other inflammatory
disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammation
of the kidney.
4. C- Reactive Protein
(CRP) hs-CRP
is most often used to help predict a healthy person's risk of cardiovascular
disease. People who have hs-CRP results
in the high end of the normal range have 1.5 to 4 times the risk
of having a heart attack as those with CRP values at the low end
of the normal range.
The CRP molecule itself is not a
harmful molecule in the body. The higher level of CRP is simply a
reflection of higher than normal inflammation.
The measurement of CRP does not reflect where the inflammation
is. It may come from cells in the fatty deposits in arterial walls
that reflect the process of atherosclerosis.
It may come from other tissues.
A review of epidemiological data found that
high-sensitivity CRP was able to predict risk of
myocardial infarction, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and
sudden cardiac death among healthy individuals with no history
of heart disease, as well as predict recurrent events
in patients with acute or stable coronary syndromes.
This inflammatory marker provided prognostic information that was
independent of other measures of risk such as cholesterol level
and high blood pressure. Studies have concluded that greater levels
of cardiac CRP are associated with higher cardiovascular risk.
5. Homocysteine - Amino
acid commonly used as a screen for people at high risk for heart
attack or
stroke.
It may be useful in patients who have a family history of coronary
artery disease but no other known risk factors. Elevated
homocysteine levels have recently been linked to other disorders.
In three recent studies, an association was found between
elevated homocysteine levels and age-related macular degeneration.
Increased homocysteine levels were found in a Japanese study
to be associated with the presence of gallstones in middle-aged
men, which may
partly explain the reported high prevalence rate of coronary heart
disease in
persons with gallstones. Homocysteine
has also become recognized as an independent risk factor for bone
fractures.
6. Hemoglobin A1C - One
of the best ways to assess your glucose status is testing for hemoglobin
A1C (HbA1c). It measures a person’s blood sugar
over the last two to three months and is an independent predictor
of heart disease risk in persons with or without diabetes. Maintaining
a healthy hemoglobin A1C level may also help those with diabetes
prevent some of the complications of the disease.
7. DHEA,s - Dehydroepiandrosterone
(DHEA) is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands, and is a precursor
to the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone. DHEA levels peak
in one’s
twenties and then decline dramatically with age. DHEA
is frequently referred to as an “anti-aging” hormone. DHEAS
and several other androgens are used to evaluate adrenal function
and to distinguish between androgen secreting adrenal conditions
from those that originate in the ovary or testes. DHEAS
can be measured to help diagnose adrenocortical tumors (tumor in
the cortex of the adrenal gland), adrenal cancers, and adrenal
hyperplasia (which
may be congenital or adult onset) and to separate them from ovarian
tumors and cancers.
8. Testosterone,
Free - Testosterone is produced in the testes in men,
in the ovaries in women, and in the adrenal glands of both men
and women. Men and women alike can be dramatically affected by
the decline in testosterone levels that occurs with aging. Unlike
bound testosterone, the free form of the hormone can circulate in the brain and affect
nerve cells. Testosterone plays different roles in men and women,
including the regulation of fertility, libido, and muscle mass.
In men, free testosterone levels may be used to evaluate whether
sufficient bioactive testosterone is available to protect against
abdominal obesity, mental depression, osteoporosis, and heart disease.
In women, low levels of testosterone have been associated with
decreased libido and well-being, while high levels of free testosterone
may indicate hirsuitism (a condition of excessive hair growth on
the face and chest) or polycystic ovarian syndrome. Increased testosterone
in women may also indicate low estrogen levels.
9. Thyroid Stimulating
Hormone (TSH) Secreted by the pituitary
gland, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) controls thyroid hormone
secretion in the thyroid. When blood levels fall below normal,
this indicates hyperthyroidism (increased thyroid activity, also
called thyrotoxicosis), and when values are above normal, this
suggests hypothyroidism (low thyroid activity). Overt hyper-
or hypothyroidism is generally easy to diagnose, but subclinical
disease can be more elusive. Because
thyroid imbalance symptoms may be nonspecific or absent and
progress slowly, and since doctors do not routinely screen
for thyroid function, people with hyper- or hypothyroidism can
go undiagnosed for some time. Undiagnosed, it can progress
to a clinical disease state, which is dangerous, since
people with hypothyroidism and elevated serum cholesterol and LDL
have an increased risk of atherosclerosis.
10. Estradiol - Both
men and women need estrogen for physiological functions.
Estradiol is the primary circulating form of estrogen in men and
women, and is an indicator of hypothalamic and pituitary function.
Men produce estradiol in smaller amounts than do women; most
estradiol is produced from testosterone and adrenal steroid hormones,
and some is produced directly by the testes. In women, estradiol
is produced in the ovaries, adrenal glands, and peripheral tissues.
Levels of estradiol vary throughout the menstrual cycle, and drop
to low, constant levels after menopause. In women, blood
estradiol levels help evaluate menopausal status and sexual
maturity. Increased levels in women may indicate an increased risk
for breast or endometrial cancer. Estradiol plays a role in support
of healthy bone density in both men and women. Low levels are associated
with an increased risk of osteoporosis and bone fracture
as well. Elevated levels of estradiol in men may accompany gynecomastia
(breast enlargement), diminished sex drive, and difficulty with
urination.
FREE TESTS also included in the above panel:
Prostate
Specific Antigen (PSA) (for men) and
Complete
Urinalysis (for
women) |
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