How to Read Cholesterol Test Strips
Cholesterol test strips are used to read the amount of cholesterol in your blood. Cholesterol levels are used to help screen your risk for developing heart disease such as heart attacks and hardening of the arteries. It is wise to have your cholesterol tested when you are healthy, because minor illnesses can temporarily lower your levels.
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Instructions
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Visit your doctor or primary health care professional to get a cholesterol test, which is often done using special test strips. These strips change color according to the levels of cholesterol in your blood. Your doctor will then read the results according to what the color of the strip indicates.
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Repeat the cholesterol test once every 5 years when you are healthy. If you are taking cholesterol medication or are on a special diet to lower your cholesterol, you should repeat the test several times a year.
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Lower your risk of developing heart disease with regular cholesterol screenings. You can have your blood tested and the results read at a community cholesterol screening.
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Rely on your doctor's advice. Do not try to read a professional lab test yourself. Once she has read your test strips, she might order additional tests to gain more information about your overall health.
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Learn about your risk factor. A cholesterol level of 240 mg/dl or more is considered "high risk." Your doctor will probably order more tests to figure out what is causing your levels to be so high. Often there is an underlying illness.
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Undergo further tests if your cholesterol reads between 200 to 239 mg/dl. This level means you are considered at "moderate risk" for heart disease. If you didn't do test strips for LDL, HDL and triglycerides, your doctor will probably want to do these now.
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Read test strips with a result of 200 mg/dl or less as "desirable." You have a low risk of developing heart disease.
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Tips & Warnings
Heart disease is largely preventable. Measures you can take to lower your cholesterol include regular exercise, eating monounsaturated fats and adding more fiber to your diet.
Some tests measure your total cholesterol in terms of the ratio of HDL (good) cholesterol to LDL (bad) cholesterol. Calculate this by dividing the total reading by your HDL cholesterol. Ideally your ratio should be four or less.
Home cholesterol tests give you instant results so you can tell whether your diet or medication is working, but they might not be as accurate as the lab tests you get from your doctor.
