Measuring Cholesterol
Your cholesterol level is not a fixed number at all times. Several factors including the day to day changes in your diet stress level and even the time of the day and the whether have been reported to influence your cholesterol results.
Several medical conditions and use of medication can also alter the blood cholesterol. Further, more different techniques of measurement of cholesterol have also been noted to give different results with the same blood samples.
VARIABILITY INTESTING
Biological factors: As a result of the observations, the authors recommended that if an individual’s blood cholesterol results were not absolutely satisfactory then the person required up to three different days. Biological fluctuations, unrelated to age, could be responsible for variations in results. It has been suggested that an average of these readings should become the basis for finding out whether there are high or normal lipid levels. The term lipid includes cholesterol of its types.
VARIATIONS IN LABORATORIES
Currently random cholesterol testing which means testing cholesterol only on one occasion is not considered sufficient by most experts. A 10 – 20 % variability may result in falsely classifying an individual into a different risk category. While it may give a false sense of security to people, it may cost unnecessary fear in others. A good example would be someone who is found to have cholesterol of 205 mg, which is borderline high, in one reading alone, yet his average of three different readings may be only 195 mg, which is normal
It is however, important to understand that 5 to 10% variation is quite common in the field of laboratory testing and occurs in other areas of blood testing as well.
VARIATIONS IN MEASURING TECHNIQUES AND EQUIPMENTS
Another factor is that variations in the laboratory techniques. In the Unites States today, in many shopping malls, portable analysers are used for quick cholesterol checks. Signs like “Cholesterol Kills” or “Take the test that could save your life” are commonly displayed by these public cholesterol screeners. Although these portable machines are capable of producing satisfactory results, inaccuracies are common because of the temperature and humidity fluctuations. Movements and vibrations can also easily upset the fine tuning of these analysers. Since all treatment decisions are based on actual cholesterol numbers, getting the right test results is crucial.
CHOLESTEROL LEVEL AFTER A HEART ATTACK
Having a heart attack is major form of stress and any stressful condition will lead to a rise in the cholesterol level. This is why the cholesterol values of a heart attack patient are not considered to be very reliable. It takes about three months before a person is considered to reach his or her base level. Although every one is very eager to know his cholesterol results, one should wait for 10 to 12 weeks following the heart attack.
Blood cholesterol level in old age are subjected to several interacting factors including dietary changes due to loss of teeth and alter sense of smell and test, alterations in the cholesterol metabolism, and effects of multiple co-existing medical problems and medications. However, the precise reason for a rise in cholesterol with aging remains a mystery. May be a higher amount of cholesterol is necessary for aging cells. Cholesterol is the important component of the cell membrane which contains as much as 95% of cellular cholesterol. It has been suggested that the aging body cells slowly loose their ability to synthesize the cholesterol, and yet to maintain their proper function. Perhaps the blood cholesterol rises at the expense of the poor cholesterol content of the cells.