When your doctor interprets your medical test results, she is looking to see whether they fall within set healthy ranges. You may have never concerned yourself with what those ranges are, instead simply waiting for the thumbs up or down from your physician to know how your health is faring. But getting a little more familiar with these numbers can help you better understand your health and have more productive conversations with your doctor.
What defines a healthy test result range for you will depend on your age, ethnicity and family history, among other factors, but there are some general guidelines provided by the National Institutes of Health that are helpful as a starting point. If you’ve already gone for your physical exam, call your physician’s office to get a copy of your test results so you have a basis for your next discussion with your doctor. She can shed more light on whether or not you need to take steps to improve your results.
And remember: What is healthy for you is dependent on far more than a few numbers can explain—and on far more than how you do in one test alone. It’s important to evaluate how your results change over time because while you may be in a ‘normal’ range, a significant increase or decrease may be a cause for concern.
Blood Pressure
Blood pressure—the force of blood against the walls of your arteries—is usually checked whenever you visit the doctor. (For those who don’t have a history of heart disease, it should be measured at least every two years; for those who do, more often.) It is determined using two measurements: The first is systolic blood pressure and it measures the pressure in the arteries as the heart contracts (beats). The second is diastolic and it measures the pressure between beats, when the heart is relaxed and filling with blood. When those numbers are high, it suggests the heart is working too hard to pump blood throughout the body.
A healthy blood pressure measurement is one where the systolic (top) number is less than 120 and the diastolic (bottom) number is less than 80. When that is not the case, you are considered to have prehypertension, the precursor to high blood pressure, or hypertension itself. Compare you results:
| Prehypertension | Systolic 120-139 | OR | Diastolic 80-89 |
| High Blood Pressure - Stage 1 | Systolic 140 or higher | OR | Diastolic 90 or higher |
High blood pressure increases your chances of developing heart disease, stroke and kidney failure. African Americans are more likely to develop high blood pressure more severely and at an earlier age; people with a family history of high blood pressure, who are overweight or who smoke are also at increased risk.
Cholesterol
It’s also important to have your cholesterol checked at least every five years, starting at age 20. (You may need to be tested more often if you have risk factors for high cholesterol, including cigarette smoking, high blood pressure or a family history of high cholesterol or early heart disease.) Cholesterol is measured with a blood test called a lipoprotein profile, which provides four important results:
- Your total blood cholesterol should be less than 200 mg/dL. A measurement between 200 and 239 mg/dL is considered borderline high cholesterol, while 240 and above—officially high cholesterol—more than doubles your risk of heart attack or stroke compared to healthy levels.
- While the NIH says that LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, should be under 130 mg/dL for most people, according to the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), but 100 mg/dL is the guideline used at Canyon Ranch. The NCEP considers a level of in the 130–159 mg/dL range to be borderline high, and it raises your risk for heart attack or stroke; because of this, we encourage being even lower than the threshold. The NCEP considers over 160 to be high. If you have heart disease or diabetes, aim for an LDL level less than 70 mg/dL.]
- HDL cholesterol is considered “good” cholesterol, so the higher your HDL number the better: A measurement of 60 mg/dL or higher is associated with lower risk of heart attack and stroke. On the other hand, anything less than 40 mg/dL for men or 50 mg/dL for women puts you at higher risk.
- Your triglyceride count is a measure of fat in your blood. Healthy triglyceride levels are less than 150 mg/dL; some studies have suggested that anything higher raises your heart attack and stroke risk. Ideal triglyceride levels are less than 100 mg/dL.
Bone Density
This test uses a machine called a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanner to measure the strength and mineral content of bones in the spine, hip and forearm. National guidelines say that women and men should have a bone mileral density test (BMDT) at age 65 or 70, respectively, or earlier if they have risk factors for osteoporosis such as a family history of the disease or entry into early menopause. At Canyon Ranch, we suggest that women consider screening prior to age 50 because they already have a 50 percent lifetime risk of developing a fragility fracture by then.
Bone mineral density tests have two results: Your T-score and your Z-score.
- Your T-score is your bone density compared to that of a healthy young adult of your gender, and it is measured in standard deviations from that average. A T-score is used to gauge early signs of bone loss or overt osteoporosis. A T-score between -1.0 and -2.5 indicates osteopenia, the predecessor of osteoporosis. T-scores of -2.5 and below diagnose osteoporosis.
- Used less often by most physicians, your Z-score, on the other hand, compares your bone density with the average score for your gender, age, race and weight. A score above -2 is considered normal; anything below that may suggest that your bone loss may be due to something other than normal aging. However, this score can be a bit misleading, so diagnoses of osteoporosis are based primarily on T-scores; think of your Z-score as another piece of information that your doctor can use to gauge your overall bone health picture.
Blood Sugar
Another type of blood sugar measurement, called the Hemoglobin A1c test, can also be used to diagnose diabetes. An A1c level of 5.7 to 6.4 indicates pre-diabetes. An A1c level of 6.5 and above indicates diabetes.
PSA
Many doctors—although not all—recommend annual screenings for prostate cancer for men age 50 and older. (Those at higher-than-normal risk may begin screenings even earlier, at 40 or 45.) The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test can determine the amount of a specific protein in your blood, produced by the prostate gland and elevated in those with prostate cancer and other non-cancerous conditions. The higher your score, the more likely your doctor will want to conduct further tests to explore your situation further.
A PSA score below 4.0 ng/mL is considered normal, but studies have found that prostate cancer can be present even in people with lower scores. Because of this, it may be more appropriate to follow the trends in your PSA score over time. However, there is no consensus in the medical community whether PSA testing should be done at all. Ask your physician if he recommends this test.
