Cholesterol Testing

Gateway Fitness now offers Full Lipid Panel Cholesterol Screening in ONLY (5) MINUTES! No more scheduling, hours away from work & home, driving to the doctors in traffic, waiting around and then no results for weeks! Gateway Fitness can test your cholesterol and hand you a complete printout in just 5 minutes! For a mere $25 and only 5 minutes of your time, Gateway Fitness can let you know where you stand.

What Puts You at Risk for Coronary Heart Disease?

Risk Factors You Can't Do Anything About:
- Family History of Premature Coronary Heart Disease
- Age

Risk Factors you Can Do Something About:
- High LDL (above 130 mg/dL), "Bad" Cholesterol
- Low HDL (Less than 40mg/dL), "Good" Cholesterol
- High hs-CRP (above 3 mb/L)
- High Blood Pressure (Above 140/90 mmHg)
- High Blood Glucose (Diabetes)
- Overweight
- Smoking
- Inactivity and Lack of Exercise
- High Stress Environment

The Connection Between Diabetes and Heart Disease

Diabetes, high cholesterol (hyperlipidemia), high blood pressure (hypertension), and obesity all can lead to increased occurence of coronary artery disease (CAD). Eighty percents with diabetes are obese. Obesity also contributes to high levels of cholesterol for people with diabetes.

People with diabetes have a two to fourfold higher risk for having cardiovascular events than nondiabetics. Up to one half of type 2 diabetics have coronary heart disease (CHD). People with diabetes are recognized as having coronary event risk comparable to individuals with established CHD.

For men between 35 and 64, diabetes mellitus increases the risk of congestive heart failure by 4 times. For women between the same ages, it increases by 8 times.

Understanding Your Test Results

A Lipid Profile is a detailed measure of the fats in your blood. It consist of measuring your total cholesterol, HDF cholesterol, and triglycerides and calculating your LDL cholesterol. NCEP (National Cholesterol Education Program-a stufy by a panel of experts) ATP III Guidelines recommend a complete lipid profile as the initian test and testing every 6 weeks until lipid goals are met and every 4-6 months thereafter.

Cholesterol is one of the several components that form your lipid profile. Total Cholesterol (TC) is a measure of total amount of both "good" and "bad" cholesterol in your blood at a given time.

TC is measured in milligrams per deciliter (mg/DL). A TC of less than 200 mg/DL is desirable.

The "good" cholesterol is called High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholestrol. It removes excess cholesterol from your arteries and moves it to the liver for further processing or to be eliminated from the body.

The higher your HDL, the better. An HDL of 60 mg/dL or higher is beneficial and considered a negative risk factor. An HDL of 40 mg/dL or lower is considered a risk factor for heart disease.

A TC/HDL Ratio is total cholesterol divided by HDL cholesterol. Some heathcare professionals may use this ratio to assess risk for developing heart disease--lower ratios are associated with lower risk.

Tiglycerides (TRG) are composed of fatty acids and glycerol. Like cholesterol, they circulate in your blood, but are stored in body fat and used when the body needs extra energy. While your triglyceride level can be significantly affected by how recently you've eaten, total cholesterol and HDL are only slightly affected.

The "bad cholesterol is called Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. It contributes to the buildup of fat deposits in your arteries (atherosclerosis), which can cause decreased blood flow and heart attack.

About 65% of the cholesterol in your blood is LDL. An LDL of less than 130 mg/dL is desirable. If you have a personal history of coronary heart disease or diabetes, or if you have multiple risk factors, your LDL should be below 100 mg/dL.

Your heartcare professional will carefully examine the test results of your lipid profile to fully assess your risk for coronary heart disease.

Other Important Test

Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) and Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) are enzymes that are measured to determine the function of your liver. A normal ALT range is 10-40 U/L units per liter) and a normal AST range is 10-40 U/L units per liter) and a normal AST range is 10-30 U/L. Your Alt and AST levels will need to be monitored if you are on certain dugs to lower cholesterol, to control diabetes, or to treat various other diseases.

Glucose (GLU) is a measure of the sugar level in your blood. Fasting glucose levels should be below 100 mg/dL. If you are over weight or have a family history of diabetes, your glucose levels should be checked periodically to see if you have diabetes.

High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP) measurement is useful as an aid in the detection and evaluation of infection, tissue injury, inflammatory disorders and associated diseases. It can help your physician predict cardiovascular outcomes independently of other conventional markersof risk.

An A1C test result reflects a patient's average blood sugar level (blood glucose concentration) over the previous 2-3 months. It tells the patient and physician how well blood sugar levels are being controlled. These A1C values are not subject to the fluctuations that are seen with daily blood glucose monitoring.

Periodic Testing Helps Manage Cholesterol Levels

National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Guidlines
NCEP Guidelines recommend regular cholesterol screen with a lipid profile for all adults, as well as for children in families with cardiovascular risk factors. Periodic lipid testing will determine whether you have met your goals or need more intensive treatment. NCEP Guidelines recommend that you test your lipids every 6 weeks until your goals are met and ever 4-6 months thereafter.

American Diabetics Association (ADA) Recommentations
The ADA recommends A1C as the best test to find out if a patient's blood sugar is under control over time. The test should be preformed every 3 months for insulin-treatment patients, during treatment changes, or when blood sugar is elevated. For stable patients on prescriptions drugs, the recommended frequency is at least twice a year. According to the ADA, the target A1C value is < 7%. Lower glycemic goals (i.e., a normal A1C, < 6%) may futher reduce complications (at the cost of increased risk of hypoglycemia).

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*-Gateway Fitness does not bill insurance at this time. The cholesterol test administered is for informational purposes only and is not intended to impede or take place of your physicians care and directives.

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