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Cholesterol is nowadays well known. We know that we have to pay attention
to our cholesterol to stay in good health. In most of the cases of higher
cholesterol the person will not directly detect the danger. But high cholesterol
is one of the most important risk factors for heart disease and coronary
diseases.
In Western countries, coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death. An elevated
blood cholesterol level is one of the major risk factors for coronary heart disease.
However, not only the concentration of the total cholesterol is important, but also the
ratio between the "good" HDL cholesterol and the "bad" LDL cholesterol.
The Cholesterol Plus HomeTest consists of two tests which enables you to
calculate your total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio. This ratio gives a reliable
impression of your personal risk for coronary heart disease.
Cholesterol is an important structural component for the human body and
plays an important role in the production of hormones and bile acids.
Cholesterol is taken up from our nutrition, however, the majority of the
cholesterol in our body (approximately 75%) is produced by the liver.
In order to transport cholesterol to those parts of the body where it’s needed,
the liver produces the HDL and LDL. The LDL transports the cholesterol to
several parts of the body. During this transport, LDL easily sticks to the
interior side of blood vessels. This may lead to damage and narrowing of
these blood vessels, and eventually may lead to atherosclerosis and possibly
heart attack. Therefore, LDL is also referred to as “bad" cholesterol. HDL is
called "good" cholesterol, because HDL removes the surplus of the
cholesterol from the interior side of the blood vessels and transports it back
to the liver, where it will be excreted from the body through the stool.
In normal circumstances, the liver keeps a balance between the absorption
and excretion of cholesterol. This balance can be disturbed when food
contains a lot of saturated fat, or when someone suffers from certain
diseases, such as diabetes.
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A high cholesterol will not immediately lead to complaints, but will eventually
lead to the narrowing of the artery’s (atherosclerosis). The narrowing of the
arteries will lead to a decrease of the circulation of the organs, which will lead
to a heart attack, a stroke of other coronary diseases.
Our cholesterol can be kept on a low level by paying attention to our food
(eat less food with a lot of satiated fat), exercise more and non-smoking.
When paying attention to your diet will not lead to sufficient results, there is
medication that can lower the cholesterol level. Your family doctor or your
specialist can prescribe the medication.
A single measurement of only the total cholesterol does not tell anything about the
relation between "good" HDL cholesterol and "bad" LDL cholesterol. By measuring the
total cholesterol and the HDL cholesterol, you do not only get more information about
both separate values, but also provides information about their relation to one another.
Worldwide research has shown that this total cholesterol/HDL ratio is a reliable value to
determine the risk for coronary heart disease.
Normally the liver will regulate the percentage fat and cholesterol in our
blood. This balance can be disrupted by food that contains too much satiated
fat. In this case the cholesterol level will rise. High cholesterol can also be
the cause of diabetes (diabetes mellitus), obesity and hereditary tendency for
high cholesterol (familiar hypercholesterolemia)
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Because the risk for coronary heart disease can be reduced rather easily by
adjusting eating and living habits, it is advisable to measure cholesterols
level on a regular basis. This especially applies for people with a high risk for
coronary heart disease, such as:
- People with diabetes (diabetes mellitus);
- People with a high blood pressure;
- People with a genetic predisposition for high cholesterol (familial
hypercholesterolemia);
- People who smoke, eat fat, are over weighted, drink too much alcohol or
do not exercise enough;
- People who already have had coronary heart disease, or people with a
family history of coronary heart disease at a younger age (younger than
60 years).
We refer to the instruction sheet
(see button bar left) that is included in your testkit to conduct simple steps.
The test is easy to use and can be performed at any time
and place. Within fifteen minutes you will know the level of cholesterol in
your blood and if there is a need to do something about it.
With the handy finger stick device you can sting yourself with almost no pain.
You must drop several drops of blood in the test. The test will determine the
percentage of Total Cholesterol (LDL and HDL) in your blood. You can read your cholesterol level on the included
Cholesterol level index.
The Cholesterol Plus HomeTest consists of two different
test-cassettes, which
enables you to determine your personal risk for coronary heart disease. One
test-cassette measures total cholesterol in the blood sample, the other
test-cassette measures HDL cholesterol. Both test-cassettes work identical
In order to determine the risk factor for coronary heart
disease using the Cholesterol Plus HomeTest you only have to divide
the result of the total cholesterol measurement by the result of the HDL cholesterol
measurement. This total cholesterol/HDL ratio can be compared with the table on the
other side. Please take into account that results are different for gender.
The Cholesterol Plus Test is very suitable to make an risk assessment for
coronary heart disease. However, in addition to cholesterol levels there are a number of
factors that influence your risk for coronary heart disease, such as:
- age, older people are generally at more risk for coronary heart disease;
- myocardial infarction, in many cases the causes of a myocardial infarction are still
present, even after the myocardial infarction. These people have a greater risk for
re-occurrence;
- diabetes, diabetes causes an elevated level of total cholesterol;
- high blood pressure, a high blood pressure deteriorates the condition of the blood
vessels;
- family, if there is a history of family member with high cholesterol and/or coronary
heart disease;
- stress, it seems that people who are sensitive to stress have a greater risk for
coronary disease, however this has not been scientifically proven;
- menopause, because of the loss of the protecting estrogen, cholesterol levels rise;
- unhealthy lifestyle, for example smoking, not enough physical exercise, eating to
much fat, obesity.
Click here for order information and
how
to order
We will send you the home tests by priority mail in a neutral discrete
envelope (fitting in standard letter-boxes) to ensure your privacy.
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