Routine lab work is an important tool in health

Has your healthcare provider instructed you to have some blood drawn before an upcoming appointment or procedure? It’s best not to put that off, says a local primary care physician, because lab work can reveal important pieces of information about your health, as well as clues that trouble may be brewing.

“The reality is that many diseases and medical conditions may initially be silent or undetectable,” says Todd Duerfeldt, DO, Parkview Physicians Group – Family Medicine. “Diseases and disorders can be detected early with lab work, but based solely on how someone feels, they can often go unnoticed. In fact, many of those conditions are quite treatable, and even curable, if caught early enough.”

Duerfeldt lists a few examples, starting with prostate cancer, which can be detected by a simple blood test called the prostate specific antigen, or PSA, test.

“This is the most common cancer in American men,” says Duerfeldt, “and it’s highly treatable when detected early. However, like so many cancers, prostate cancer can become difficult to treat or cure once it advances.”

Diabetes and prediabetes are impacting the health and limiting the lives of U.S. adults in record numbers.

“Nearly 1 in 3 Americans currently have either diabetes or prediabetes,” says Duerfeldt, “and almost 25 percent of them were unaware before they were diagnosed that their sugar levels were too high. If left untreated, diabetes can gradually lead to early-onset heart disease, kidney failure, increased risk of stroke, blindness and neuropathy, among other serious and life-threatening conditions. That’s why detecting sugar changes during the prediabetic stage is so important. It can help people get treatment and make lifestyle changes to avoid developing diabetes. Prediabetes can be reversible.”

One common blood test can help identify blood abnormalities from anemia to various leukemias and other conditions.

“A complete blood count, known as a CBC, can help detect leukemias, or cancers of the early blood-forming cells,” says Duerfeldt. “The CBC can also help identify when you have an abnormally low amount of red blood cells, or anemia, as well as abnormalities in the platelets, the cells that help clot the blood and assist in wound healing.”

Most adults know that high cholesterol can be very bad for health. Lipid screenings can help identify high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides.

“High amounts of either one can significantly contribute to the blockage of arteries throughout the body, including the coronary and carotid arteries, which supply blood to the heart and brain,” says Duerfeldt. “Blockages in these vessels can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Most of the time, these conditions develop invisibly unless detected by a blood test.”

It can be easy to put off having lab work done when so many other aspects of life demand immediate attention. But Duerfeldt encourages community members, especially those who are over 40, to develop a new habit in their healthcare routine.

“Most of us realize the benefit of exercise and healthy eating as valuable tools in helping to maintain optimal health, but how many of us place getting routine lab work on the same pedestal of importance? I recommend taking a little extra time once or twice a year to get routine lab work, because it is every bit as important as diet and exercise to a person’s overall health. After all, if we don’t take care of ourselves, how can we care for the ones we love?”