Health & Fitness

The Role of Blood Testing in Disease Identification

Regular blood sampling is an essential part of our routine healthcare. It enlightens you regarding different health problems developing in your body.

Importance of Blood Testing

Blood sample testing includes a number of underlying benefits such as:

  • You can get early detection of diseases through routine blood tests. Blood sampling allows you to identify different health issues growing silently in your body.
  • This is integral to the evaluation of your health risks. Blood testing services unfurl the risk factors deteriorating your health status. This helps in highlighting the harmful factors risking your health. It helps foreseeing susceptibility to critical diseases.
  • Blood test is basically a process of monitoring your current health status. It examines the proper functionability of your organs. It also checks the effectiveness and concentration of the medication in your bloodstream.
  • Blood test is the primary step to tracking diseases. It helps you in assessing the progression of the disease and evaluates the treatment efficacy at the same time.
  • Blood test in important for giving an idea of necessary preventive care. Identification of imminent health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes helps you adopt preventive measures. Doctors provide translational medicines to these health issues on the basis of research on biomarkers.
  • Your blood test results help in your overall therapeutic decisions in short.

Identification of Different Diseases with Blood Testing

You can assess and treat the following health issues through blood testing:

  • Cancer

You will have to undertake a blood test first if you have cancer. It is the main process to determine blood cancer. However, you can detect your cancerous cells and proteins in case you have some other form of cancer.

The complete blood count test assesses the count of blood cells in a blood sample. The presence of abnormal cells in the blood sample or the absence of too many of a particular blood cell indicates the possibilities of blood cancer.

The protein testing in blood samples determines the presence of abnormal proteins in the immune system. An individual with high value of abnormal proteins is likely to develop multiple myeloma.

  • Heart disease

The damage of the heart muscles lead to the release of different substances and proteins into the bloodstream. Blood tests measure the quantity of these substances in the bloodstream. This indicates the level of damage occurring in the heart.

Cholesterol test is the most common blood test for diagnosing any kind of heart problem. Its main function is to measure the level of fats in blood. You can also assess the triglyceride content in blood. The normal triglyceride level should not be more than 150 mg/dl. The triglyceride rate exceeding this value shows higher accumulation of calories in your body than usage. All these blood tests indicate the risks of heart disease.

  • HIV and AIDS

Different types of blood tests detect the presence of AIDS virus in your body. The antibody screening test examines the presence of a protein, an indicator of HIV infection. It generally occurs in your body after 2 to 8 weeks of HIV invasion. Its other name is the ELISA test.

Another test that performs faster detection of the HIV virus than the antibody screening is the antigen combination test. It detects p24 in the blodstream. It is an HIV antigen protein. It is likely to develop 2 to 4 weeks after the HIV infection. This test assesses the development of HIV antibodies in the body at the same time.

On the other hand, the RNA or nucleic acid test looks for HIV after 10 days from the exposure. You can undergo this test only when you exhibit flu-like symptoms or greater risks against HIV infection.

  • Hepatitis C

The detection of another critical yet common disease, Hepatitis C also depends on blood test. The HCV test examines the availability of antibodies of Hepatitis C virus in the blood. HCV genotype test and HCV RNA test are some other blood tests detecting Hepatitis C infection.  

Latest Innovations in Blood Testing

Venipuncture is the most common and traditional method of drawing blood from one’s body. Phlebotomist also punctures the vein in your arm for collection of blood tests. They will send these blood samples to the laboratory for further tests. However, recent scientific advancements have encountered modern methods of blood collection.

You can use the finger pricking method to collect your capillary blood. This is relatively less painful and is an effective alternative as well. This is eligible for delivering accurate results of blood test. This is an effective procedure for spot testing of dried blood. It causes fewer invasions and is less painful than venipuncture.

This dried blood sample does not require any cold storage. This is a cost-effective approach towards blood testing. This approach of blood test with dried blood spot is commonly called the DBS approach. Another name for the collection of this capillary blood sample is volumetric absorptive microsampling or the VAMS technology. However, this method of blood testing is not applicable for assessing your CBC or complete blood count.

Know the Effectiveness of DBS and VAMS Samples

  • You can use blood biomarkers for the early screening and detection of diseases. The DBS approach is comparatively less invasive with minimal discomfort for the patient.
  • CMP or comprehensive metabolic panels basically comprise of a collection of 14 tests altogether. You can get to know about your kidney health, electrolyte balance and blood sugar levels. You can also know your general health status including high blood pressure, diabetes, and liver or kidney conditions.
  • You can again test with enzyme markers to detect the enzyme activity in your body. This alerts you against risks of stroke, liver cirrhosis and celiac disease.  

Conclusion

 

Blood tests form an integral part of our routine healthcare and are the most effective in taking preventive measures against lifestyle diseases. A blood test helps you diagnose additional health problems at the same time. To ensure your health is monitored and protected against the risks of severe health issues, we all should undertake routine blood tests. If you’re ready to take this step, you can easily book a blood test in Harley Street to get started on this essential health practice.