Home Cholesterol Tests

Unlike many of the diagnostic tests, which check for the presence of a disease, home cholesterol tests can help to prevent severe cardiovascular problems. Home cholesterol tests allow a physician to do a better job of monitoring the cholesterol content in a patient’s bloodstream. In that way the physician can offer the patient more informed advice in relation to the patient’s diet. A patient with a high cholesterol level might be told to eliminate potential sources of cholesterol, such as ice cream or whip cream. A patient who chose to ignore the doctor’s sound advice might later fall victim to a heart attack.

A recent Cheerios commercial has helped to draw greater attention to the importance of home cholesterol tests. The ad shows a grandfather talking with his grandson about a test he will be taking that morning. He tells his grandson that he hopes to score 190 on the test. The young boy, who knows nothing about home cholesterol tests, becomes wide-eyed. He assumes that his grandfather wants to earn far more than the standard “perfect score” of 100.

The grandfather has obviously learned that a cholesterol level above 200 raises concerns in the minds of the medical community. By the same token, the grandfather certainly recognizes his body’s need for a certain amount of cholesterol.  In fact, cholesterol performs a number of vital functions within the body. It plays a role in the synthesis of both bile acids and steroid hormones. Cell membranes, the barriers that allow each cell to function as a separate entity, contain cholesterol. Triglycerides, one component of the total cholesterol, are used to move fatty acids though the bloodstream.

Individuals like the grandfather in that Cheerios commercial no doubt appreciate the benefits of present-day cholesterol tests. Such tests did not exist 35 years ago. At that time, the physician relied chiefly on the measurement of blood pressure and body weight in order to determine the cardiovascular health of a patient. One overweight Pennsylvania doctor agreed to enter into a bet with one overweight patient. Being without home cholesterol tests, both thought that their focus should be on their struggle to loose weight.

Unfortunately, the physician never discovered which of the two could loose more weight. His patient apparently had an undetected, high level of cholesterol. That high cholesterol level contributed to an eventual heart attack. Today a simple piece of paper, chromatography paper, can help to prevent such a tragedy.

During a cholesterol test a drop of blood is placed over a section of chromatography paper that contains two different enzymes and a chemical indicator. The enzymes, cholesterol esterase and cholesterol oxidase change any cholesterol in the blood into hydrogen peroxide. That hydrogen peroxide then touches a dye in the paper. The dye then reacts with horseradish peroxidase, the chemical indicator. In the presence of cholesterol, the paper turns purple.

Home cholesterol tests should be administered to someone who has been fasting for 9 to 12 hours. Use of certain drugs, such as anabolic steroids, corticosteroids, thiazide diuretics and beta blockers can lead to a decrease in the cholesterol level that is measured by the cholesterol test. Other drugs such as colchicines, erythromycin, neomycin, and MAO inhibitors raise the level of cholesterol in the bloodstream. Physicians must check with patients concerning their medications before advising those patients to take any of the home cholesterol tests.