Cholesterol Screening

Cholesterol is a chemical that is made in the liver. Its production can be contributed to by the regular ingestion of fatty foods. Cholesterol is essential for good health and some circulates in your blood. However, high levels of cholesterol (more than the blood can carry) can be deposited in your arteries and lead to problems like atherosclerotic plaques. Atherosclerosis can lead to the blockage of arteries and this is a major cause of heart attack and stroke.

Our cholesterol screening service is not a substitute for a blood test at your GP but it is a very accurate cholesterol screen to see if you have higher than ideal levels.

Why is it important to get cholesterol levels checked?

It is important to know that approximately 85% of cholesterol is endogenous or created within the body (predetermined by your genes) and approximately 15% is exogenous or from your diet. The only way to know if you have problem cholesterol is to get it checked because having high cholesterol is mainly symptomless.

How does the test work?

 We perform a full lipid (cholesterol) screen on you measuring the following:

• Total Cholesterol, the total amount of cholesterol in your body.
• HDL, high density lipoprotein (We call it good cholesterol)
• LDL, low density lipoprotein (We call it bad cholesterol)
• TG, triglycerides, a type of fat found in the blood
• Other components discussed after a test.

We usually check your blood sugar levels (a diabetes screen) as part of this test.

What do I need to do before a test?

We schedule an appointment (usually a morning) and ask you to come fasting. If you are not fasting, certain levels are elevated after eating and we want to see what is going on without influence.

If you have to take medicine in the morning, you can do this as normal with a glass of water.

In the privacy of our consultation room, the pharmacist will further explain the service and obtain your signed consent to proceed. Consent is required because we take a small amount of blood from your finger to run in the analyser.

The analyser takes approximately 7 minutes to run the blood work.

The pharmacist will record all the results.

The pharmacist will finally discuss all results with you and discuss necessary next steps before you leave.

Is the healthy heart screen accurate?

Our cholesterol machine is a Roche COBAS b101. It is a gold standard analyser outside of the laboratory setting. Our machine is quality control validated. An independent validation study by Tallaght Hospital found no clinically significant difference between point of care testing and lab results.^{^}

Despite the level of assurance we can provide in our process, we always stress that our services are only screening services. They are not meant to replace tests undertaken by your doctor.

At Marron’s Pharmacy, we offer screening services to make screening of certain diseases more accessible to people, especially when people are not able to or are unwilling to take time off to visit their doctor.

^{^} Validation of a point of care lipid analyser using a hospital based reference laboratory. Carey M et al Depts of Cardiology and Chemical Pathology, The Adelaide and Meath Hospital incorporating the National Children’s Hospital, Dublin. Irish Journal of Medical Science, Vol 145. Number 4, 2006.