3 common tests that are used for pre diabetes diagnosis!

Most of us are familiar with the disease 'Diabetes' and the ill effects it can cause on a person's health. However, there is a condition in which, the person does not suffer from any form of diabetes, but the blood glucose levels are constantly above the normal levels. This medical condition is called prediabetes. It is thus considered as a precursor to diabetes type 2 as well as many of the problems related to heart such as heart attack and stroke. It is estimated that a person suffering from prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within a span of 10 years.

Therefore, it becomes critical to detect this medical condition in an early stage so that future precautions can be taken to avoid any serious illness. Looking at the seriousness of this medical condition, the International Diabetes Federation, the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the study of Diabetes recommended that the following  tests to be used in prediabetesdiagnosis.

A1C Test 

The test is also called as Glycated Hemoglobin test, as it measures the percentage of sugar molecules that are bound to hemoglobin, Hb (oxygen carrying pigment in the blood of human beings). As the percentage of sugar attached to Hb is directly proportional to the blood sugar levels, the test gives a good idea about the average sugar levels for the past couple of months. Under a normal set of conditions, the blood sugar levels in this test should come below 6%. Any value above 6 to 6.5% is considered as a prediabetic stage.

Oral Glucose Tolerance Test 

It is an early test that is employed to detect blood sugar values. In the test, the patient's sugar levels are measured before and after drinking a sweet solution. The levels are checked after 2 hours of the consumption of the solution. A healthy individual will have sugar levels in the range 140mg/dL (milligrams/deciliter) or less, whereas in pre diabetic condition, the glucose level is between 140 mg/dL and 199 mg/dL.

Fasting Blood Sugar Test  

As the name suggests, the test measures the blood sugar levels after the patient fasts for approximately 8 hours. The blood sample of the patient is taken and treated to find out the sugar levels of the blood. A healthy individual not suffering from this condition has 100mg/dL value of blood glucose. Whereas in case of prediabetes, the value increases from 100 to 125 mg/dL.

Things you must discuss while going to a cardiologist

A cardiologist is a medical professional, who holds expertise in heart related disorders. The fact, that heart troubles are on a quick rise all across the globe, has made it really important to stay in touch with a heart specialist nyc in order to ensure the wellness of your heart.

If you have even the slightest of doubts about your heart's health, then you must plan a visit to an experienced heart specialist. As they say, prevention is always better than the cure. You would not want any critical situation to arise just because you were careless enough to forget to pay a visit to the cardiologist. To make sure that you are healthy and your heart is also in good working condition, it is really important to visit a cardiologist for check up.

However, if you are going to visit the best cardiologist in New York or for that matter any heart care professional in the city, there is a list of important things that you must discuss along. Let us have a look at the list that you need to review:

Family History

Although heart problems are generally related to the physical well being of a person, they can have a genetic root cause as well. This is why it becomes so important, for the cardiologist, to know about the medical history of your family. It may include any incidences of occurrence of any major heart related complication amongst family members. With a prior analysis of the family tree, which in medical language is known as 'pedigree analysis' (the genetic representation of a medical condition being passed on from one generation to the other in a family), the cardiologist can get a good idea about the reason for heart problem. So, the first thing that you need to discuss while going to a heart specialist is to list the medical record of heart troubles in your family in the past.

Personal Disease Details

Now that the cardiologist has a brief idea about the family history, it becomes important for the professional to know about your medical background as well. It includes the details of any major surgeries that you might have undergone or any complex health issues that you might have in the past or present. Knowledge about all this can help the cardiologist plan the suitable diagnosis and prescription for you.

List of medications

Another important thing to mention here is that you must bring along a list of the current medications that you are using for any reason. There are a number of medications that can cause an allergic reaction when taken alongside other medicines. Hence, the cardiologist must know about the current status of your medications in order to prescribe those drugs that will not cause any allergic response.

The above mentioned things and their importance are clearly justified. Hence, if you plan to visit a cardiologist, you must review these to avoid any miscommunication and complication in the diagnosis and treatment.