After a few days of sunshine I am feeling all the spring vibes! After a loooong winter hibernation its time to reset and focus on health. The idea of the spring clean series is based on a refocus on health, educating you on understanding your health and what you can do, never undervaluing the little things.
So what's in the number? The first step to better health is understanding your health as it is now, and there is no better way than knowing what all the numbers mean that doctors and nurses may give you on your health check.
In this blog I am going to go through 4 of the most common checks, blood pressure, sugar, cholesterol, pulse oximeter readings (oxygen and pulse rate). This is a brief overview, as each topic can be a book each :)
Blood Pressure:
The standard blood pressure reading involves 2 numbers, 120 (systolic) / 80 (diastolic) as a standard example. The systolic number is the pressure in your arteries when the heart muscle contracts (higher pressure), and the diastolic number is the pressure when the heart relaxes. If the pressure is too high, the arteries are susceptible to damage, short and long term.
Ignoring elevated readings can lead to catastrophic outcomes, stroke and heart attack to name just 2. Your blood pressure increases a little naturally with age (as your arteries age and loose elasticity) but can increase dangerously with poor lifestyle choices, stress, diet and increased weight. Genetic factors are also a major factor.
Sugar and Diabetes:
Like blood pressure, this reading is very important and affected by many of the same factors as your blood pressure. This also means it can be improved by all the same management recommendations. It is measured by a glucose test, but because it fluctuates all day, based on largely what you have eaten, you usually will have a fasting test, having not eaten for 8 hours.
Normal instantaneous levels are less than 5.7mmol/L. The A1C test provides information of your average levels of blood glucose over 3 months (estimated average glucose eAG).
When your blood sugar remains higher (if you ignore high readings), changes take place in your arteries and your blood becomes "thicker" and moves more slowly which can cause blockages and damage that can have catastrophic outcomes, much like high blood pressure.
Its helpful to think of your heart and blood vessels as a pump and plumbing system that keeps you alive (as blood circulating is what gives you life). If that system gets blocked, unfortunately, parts of your body will not get blood and may not recover, like the heart and brain.
Cholesterol:
A cholesterol blood test measures certain fats in your blood. It is a waxy, fat like substance that is found in your blood. Its important to remember that some fats are healthy and needed in the body for your organs to work normally.
Cholesterol tests measure your LDL (low density lipoprotein) and HDL (high density lipoprotein. LDL is GOOD cholesterol, HDL is bad cholesterol. Combined you get a total cholesterol reading, which can be very deceiving as the interpretation is reliant on knowing how much is good and how much is bad.
When doing a more accurate test, you would usually have a fasting test (8-12 hours) called a lipid panel (or lipid profile). It is measured in milligrams of cholesterol per decilitre of blood (mg/dL). It is also affected naturally by your sex and age.
Pulse Oximeter readings:
A pulse oximeter measures two things, your blood oxygen levels and your pulse (heart rate). This became far more popularly known during the covid pandemic.
When you are ill, most especially with a chest infection, this reading matters as it gives you an indication of the state of your lungs by measuring how much oxygen is in your blood (which you lungs perfuse).
Very important to mention is that the accuracy of the little machine is not always reliable. If it does not get a strong pulse and steady rhythm, it will not give an accurate reading. Often in my work, those with poor circulation to the fingers, for many reasons, may not get an accurate reading, or any at all. When in doubt, seek medical help.
Knowing your health stats is the first step to making healthy changes. Your can't change what you don't know, but when you know better, DO BETTER!
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