Health and Wellbeing: What Blood Tests Reveal

Blood tests are perhaps the most common medical procedures performed on people, whether it’s on adults or children. In fact, it is among the tests administered during a routine full-body checkup. Given this, it is very safe to assume that the blood tells us so much about the current state of the body.

Those assumptions couldn’t be more right. Here are three of the most common health issues that a blood test can easily detect.

Cardiac Issues

The heart pumps blood to all parts of the body. We have to keep it healthy so that all organs get their fair share of blood and the important minerals and nutrients that it carries.

But heart ailments are very common, and some of them are not even detected until they show very obvious and oftentimes severe symptoms. Fortunately, a diagnosis can be done early if the patient subjects himself to a routine checkup that includes a thorough blood test.

Microscopic analysis of the cells that comprise the blood can uncover traces of cardiac enzymes. These substances are released by damaged tissues in the heart. Logically, the higher the levels of cardiac enzymes in the blood, the greater the damage to the heart. More sophisticated tests can even help determine when the cardiac arrest occurred. 

Specific Types of Cancers

Complete blood count or CBC is possibly the most common blood test conducted on patients. This test focuses primarily on determining the amount of each of the important blood components such as red and white blood cells.  

From the same blood sample, a relatively new blood test can be performed. This new test has the capacity to detect at least eight types of cancers: lung, esophageal, breast, colorectal, ovarian, pancreatic, stomach, and liver. These cancers currently has no clear methods for diagnosis, so the discovery of this new blood test is a huge breakthrough. But how does this new blood test do it, though? 

Cancerous tumors as they grow, release small fragments of mutated DNA and proteins in the bloodstream. These substances as good indicators that a specific type of cancer is developing inside the body.  Because of this test, cancers are now detected early, enhancing the outlook for recovery of the patients.

Viral Infections

Viral infections are among the most common health issues that a simple blood test can uncover. The medical professional just has to look at how much immunity cells are in the blood to conclude that there is an inspection that the body is currently overcoming. Oftentimes, the symptoms that accompany such immune activity are fever and fatigue.

Knowing what blood tests uncover perhaps makes the procedure more tolerable, especially for those who have a huge and significant fear of needles. A lot of tests can be performed on the vial of blood drawn. While only the more advanced tests reveal specific health issues, the most basic tests still have the ability to provide clues and direction for further testing.