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To find out if your cholesterol is high, you need to do a blood test in the laboratory, and if the result is high, above 200 mg / dl, it is important to see a doctor to see if you need to take medicine, make changes in your diet and / or increase the practice of physical exercise. However, if there is a family history of high cholesterol, it is necessary to have a blood test once a year from the age of 20 to diagnose the problem early.
Generally, high cholesterol does not cause symptoms, however, high cholesterol symptoms can appear when the values are very high, through small elevations in the skin, called xanthomas.
Tests to measure cholesterol
The best way to identify high cholesterol is through a 12-hour fasting blood test, which indicates the amount of total cholesterol and all types of fat present in the blood such as LDL (bad cholesterol), HDL (good cholesterol) and triglycerides.
However, another quicker way to know if your cholesterol is high is to do a quick test with just a drop of blood from your finger, which can be done in some pharmacies, such as the blood glucose test for diabetics, where the result comes out in a few minutes however, there is still no such test in Brazil.
Laboratory blood test Pharmacy quick test
However, this test is not a substitute for laboratory testing, but its result can be an alert to see a doctor and should only be used for screening or monitoring people who already know they have a diagnosis of high cholesterol, but who wish to have a routine monitoring more frequently.
Therefore, see what are the ideal cholesterol values in: Reference values for cholesterol. However, people with diabetes should keep their cholesterol levels even lower than these reference values to avoid heart complications.
What to do to ensure the correct exam result
Before taking the blood test, you should:
Fasting 12 hours Avoid alcoholic beverages
- Fast for 12 hours. So to take the exam at 8:00 in the morning it is important to have your last meal at the latest at 8:00 in the evening.
- Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages in the 3 days prior to the blood test;
- Avoid the practice of intense physical activities such as running or prolonged training in the previous 24 hours.
In addition, in the two weeks prior to the exam, it is important to continue eating normally without dieting or overeating, so that the result reflects your actual cholesterol levels.
These precautions must also be respected in the case of the rapid test at the pharmacy, so that the result is closer to the real one.
What to do when your cholesterol is high
When the blood test results show that cholesterol is high, the doctor will assess the need to start medication according to research for other associated risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, family history of dyslipidemia. If these are not present, initially, the patient is instructed about the diet and the practice of physical activity and, after 3 months, the same should be reevaluated, where thus, it will be decided whether or not to start medications. Here are some examples of cholesterol remedies.
To help control cholesterol you should have a balanced diet and practice physical activity regularly. It is also necessary to avoid eating processed foods, red meats and sausages, such as sausage, sausage and ham, which are rich in trans and saturated fats.
Another strategy for lowering high cholesterol is to eat more fiber by eating more fruits, raw vegetables, leafy vegetables like lettuce and cabbage, whole products and grains like oats, flaxseed and chia.
See how your diet should be in: Diet to lower cholesterol.