How to Read, Interpret and Understand Medical Records or Blood Test Reports
Are you clueless about how to read medical record or blood test report? Here are some top explanations and tips that can help you efficiently interpret and understand your medical record or blood test report almost instantly…
Hemoglobin A1 c
Hemoglobin A1 c measures the average glucose levels over the lifespan of the red blood cells for about 120 days. Its normal value is from 4 to 6%. Any value higher than 6.5% is regarded as pre-diabetes.
Fasting Blood Glucose
Blood Glucose test measures how much glucose (GLU), a type of sugar, remains in the blood. In healthy adults, its level is measured from 70 to 100 mg/dl. Generally, your blood glucose level will rise slightly just after your meal, and this increase will then force your pancreas to produce insulin to bring down your blood glucose level, so that it won’t stay too high.
The increased value of blood glucose is normally seen in 2-hour postprandial blood sugar (or 1 to 2 hrs after your meal) which is always measured from 70 to 145 mg/dl or less than 7.9 mmol/L, and the increase may also cause by emotional stress, injection of glucose or epinephrine (also called adrenaline, a drug which is normally used to treat cardiac arrest), lack of insulin (particularly obvious among the diabetics), stroke, heart attack, excessive production of growth hormone (acromegaly), increased intracranial pressure (IP, a pressure that occurs within the cranium), severe stress, Cushing’s syndrome, dehydration and etc. In contrast, the decreased level of blood glucose is always seen in physiological hunger, pancreatic cancer, decreased thyroid hormone levels (hypothyroidism), kidney failure, the presence of a tumor in the pituitary gland, an eating disorder (such as anorexia), Addison’s disease, injection or excessive use of insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs, drugs which are used to manage people with diabetes type II), severe liver disease (such as cirrhosis) and etc.
Either your blood glucose level remains too low or too high, over the time, it can definitely harm your health or may also cause certain underlying health concerns. When blood glucose level remains too high for a longer period, it can lead to the damage in nerves, blood vessels and eyes. Abnormally lower blood glucose level can mean the presence of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar level). If your fasting glucose level reads below 40 mg/dl or 2.2 mmol/L (in female) or below 50 mg/dl or 2.8 mmol/L (in male), accompanying by signs of hypoglycemia, then you may have your tumor functions abnormally in producing high volume of insulin or also called insulinoma. In a case that your fasting blood glucose level reads from 100 mg/dL (5.5 mmol/L) to 125 mg/dL (6.9 mmol/L), you’re more likely to get an impaired fasting glucose or pre-diabetes, signifying the possibility for you to get diabetes.
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raman13 | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
Great Article
Best Regards
Pinaki Ghosh | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
very useful article indeed.
Joe Dorish | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
Great info well presented and very thorough! Liked it!
Mrs. Heart | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
You’re my new Doctor. LOL Thanks for sharing this informative information.
lindalulu | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
Great article and information as always Chan!
Christine Ramsay | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
Gosh! That is very detailed and informative. Well written and well researched.
Christine
Sourav | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
Very useful… try to remember all these… or some of these. Thanks for the write.
Mr Ghaz | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
A very useful and informative article about blood test records..I had no idea about some of these diseases. thanks for sharing this wonderful tips
Ramalingam | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
A very useful and hitherto unknown information .Thanks for sharing
Chris Stonecipher | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
Chan,
Your article is informative, well written, interesting and informative. I Dugg your article plus hit the “I like it” button.
Bless you,
Chris
Judy Sheldon | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
Chan, Triond ate my comment. Let me try again.
I want to thank you for your hard work in presenting such a thorough article about lab results. You did an excellent job!
Uma Shankari | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
Handy user guide, should be kept in hospitals and labs, and it would answer several queries patients have.
Ruby Hawk | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
This is very useful information. I will know more what to look for when I have blood work done.
Eunice Tan | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
Thanks for such important lesson we may learn about
cutedrishti8 | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply
nice information..try to remember some of the things..
papaleng | Oct 5, 2009 | Reply
Chan, this was a well-researched one and very informative, My eldest daughter used to interpret for me my medical records but since she’s now based in Canada, I’d encountered some difficulties when dealing with my medical records. Thanks for this post, it definitely will help me.
monica55 | Oct 5, 2009 | Reply
Your article is an excellent resource and an excellent user manual Chan. Thanks for all the tips.
Monica.
PR Mace | Oct 5, 2009 | Reply
Chan, excellent, excellent work here. I am a nurse so I know how well you have researched and written this. Outstanding, my friend.
Glynis Smy | Oct 5, 2009 | Reply
Useful information, thanks.
BC Doan | Oct 5, 2009 | Reply
Very useful article! Now I know a bit more when I hear about it..
Faith Hodge | Oct 5, 2009 | Reply
Good article. Great for reference. Thank you for sharing.
giftarist | Oct 5, 2009 | Reply
Excellent piece..thanks for sharing this
chitragopi | Oct 5, 2009 | Reply
We carry so many diseases and undergo a lot of tests without knowing what they are for. Very useful information you have provided. Thank u.
Lisa Clayton Williams | Oct 5, 2009 | Reply
Wonderful research…so much great information! Thanks for sharing!
Kalaiselvan | Oct 5, 2009 | Reply
Great info chan… very useful… do read my articles…
martinpm | Oct 5, 2009 | Reply
thanks for this great article!
Melody SJAL | Oct 5, 2009 | Reply
You’ve done a wonderful job researching and compiling this info, Chan.
CA Johnson | Oct 5, 2009 | Reply
I really enjoyed your article Chan. I thought your research was brilliant. I tweeted your article so more people can learn how to understand medical records.
deep blue | Oct 6, 2009 | Reply
Another informative and well researched article. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Best regards,
Will
valli | Oct 6, 2009 | Reply
Very useful information.
Peter Cimino | Oct 7, 2009 | Reply
WOW! This was AWESOME! Man did I get schooled on this subject! Well done.
sweetie1 | Oct 11, 2009 | Reply
Very good blog and very informative one..keep up good work.
Dee Huff | Oct 12, 2009 | Reply
Really useful information….if I have a blood test, I’ll now know what’s going on and what’s being tested. Thanks.
Chrissy | Oct 17, 2009 | Reply
Fabulous info. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
CutestPrincess | Nov 3, 2009 | Reply
Wow what an article and so nicely done. Very informative and well presented.