A simple blood test is one of the best ways to ensure your health is on track and catch any potential warnings signs of something more sinister before it’s too late, a leading GP has advised.
If you are one of the many who are now striving to live to one hundred, Dr Dean Eggitt, a GP and CEO at Doncaster Local Medical Committee, says looking after your body in midlife is crucial.
Whilst some signs of wear and tear are completely normal, at around 40-years-old our bodies start to undergo a number of significant changes, that could give doctors an insight into how well we are ageing—and what could become a problem in later life.
According to Dr Dean Eggitt, blood tests are one of the best ways to keep an eye on what’s happening inside our bodies as we surpass the milestone. Here, the Daily Mail shares the four blood tests every person over 40 should be tracking to maintain optimum health…
Keep an eye on fats and cholesterol levels in your blood with a lipid test
Most of us know by now that there is such a thing as ‘good’ cholesterol, also known as HDL—which helps remove ‘bad’ or LDL cholesterol from the body.
High levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol, can lead to a build-up on the walls of blood vessels—known as plaque—which can cause a number of serious health problems including high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
Whilst our bodies need cholesterol to help repair any damage to blood vessels, its essential we maintain a careful balance between HDL and LDL, especially as we age.
In midlife our bodies undergo a number of significant changes – making it all the more important to track what’s going on inside
According to the NHS, people should aim to keep their non-HDL, or bad cholesterol, below 4mmol/L and good cholesterol above 1.0mmol/L for men and 1.2mmol/L for women.
Whilst cholesterol is a vital substance in the blood that plays a crucial role in maintaining cell health, imbalances in cholesterol levels can lead to serious health issues increasing the risk of cardiovascular conditions.
At around 40 years old, it becomes particularly important to keep an eye on cholesterol levels as this is when the body naturally starts to loses its ability to clear potentially harmful cholesterol from the blood, increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure.
However, by adopting healthy lifestyle habits including exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet low in saturated fats, and cutting back on alcohol most people will be able to lower their non-HDL levels and reduce the risk of associated health risks at home—though some people may need to take medicine.
Also known as a complete cholesterol test, a lipid profile is a blood test that measures the amount of cholesterol and triglycerides—another type of fat—in your blood.
Whilst triglycerides make up more than 95 per cent of lipids in the diet—typically found in dairy products, foods high in healthy fats like avocados, and some meat—excessive levels have been linked with diabetes, obesity and even cancer.
The blood test that checks your kidney function
The kidneys are responsible for removing waste from the body, producing red blood cells, and are essential for maintaining a healthy balance of water, salts and minerals in the blood. They also help to control blood pressure.
At least one million people are thought to be living with the chronic kidney disease right now without knowing it
Without this balance, nerves, muscles and other tissue in the body may not work properly.
Serum creatinine blood tests measure how well your kidneys remove waste, toxins and extra fluid from your blood.
If your kidneys are not working at optimum function, your creatinine levels will rise, which could be an indication of chronic kidney disease—a condition that causes the kidneys to gradually stop working.
The danger is that in most cases it has no symptoms until the kidneys are close to failing—by which point it’s often too late for treatment.
As a result, at least one million people are thought to be living with the disease right now without knowing it—driven by an ageing population and high blood pressure, which is known to trigger kidney disease.
Getting your kidney function checked regularly can help highlight any minor issues before the problem takes hold, slashing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
The blood test that checks your blood sugar levels
High blood sugar levels are an increasing risk factor for disease, according to a landmark new study—with a 6 per cent increase in the number of people suffering from ill health as a result of high blood sugar levels.
Dr Eggitt said: ‘Diabetes is a body wide inflammatory disease that acts as a catalyst for everything’
And according to Dr Eggitt, understanding what a normal blood sugar level is is vital to diabetes prevention and management. This means getting your HbA1c checked regularly.
This test measure levels of glycated hemoglobin in the blood—which is produced when glucose in the blood sticks to red blood cells, which carry oxygenated blood around the body.
A high HbA1c reading means the level of sugar in your blood is too high, increasing the risk of diabetes related complications.
However, it’s not always a serious issue if your blood sugar is slightly higher than normal for a short amount of time—with things like being unwell, feeling stressed or being less active than usual all having an effect on blood sugar levels.
But persistent high blood sugar can cause serious problems including permanent damage to the nerves in your hands and feet—known as peripheral neuropathy—sight problems and life-threatening conditions such as diabetic ketoacidosis, caused by a lack of insulin.
Eating a balanced diet—low in saturated fats, refined carbohydrates and salt— maintaining a healthy weight and getting regular exercise can all help to lower blood sugar levels as well as eating at regular times and not skipping meals.
Track your blood pressure
Around 14million people in the UK live with high blood pressure. But in half of these cases, the condition is uncontrolled, raising the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, vascular dementia, and early death.
Whilst not technically a blood test, in that it doesn’t involve having your blood taken, blood pressure is a vital marker of good health.
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is considered to be 135/85mmHg or higher if the reading was taken at home, or 140/90mmHg or higher if taken by a healthcare professional.
As a general guide, healthy blood pressure is considered to be between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHG, with over-40s looking to sit at around 115/75mmHg to reduce heart attack risk.
Blood pressure does inevitably creep up with age as our arteries become stiffer, putting more pressure on our hearts, but left untreated high blood pressure can cause serious problems such as heart attack and stroke.
And for most, hypertension rarely has noticeable symptoms.
The only way to find out if your blood pressure is too high is to have your blood pressure checked.
But the good news is, high blood pressure can be easily tackled at home through lifestyle chances such as losing weight if you’re overweight, eating a healthy, balanced diet and exercising regularly—with the NHS advising people to aim for at least 150minutes of exercise a week.
Cutting back on alcohol and caffeine can also help reduce blood pressure.
