A blood test is a lab analysis of things that may be found in your blood. You may have blood tests to keep track of how well you are managing a condition such as diabetes or high cholesterol. You may also have them for routine checkups or when you are ill.
Blood tests are very common. They are ordered by healthcare providers to:
- • Find out how well organs such as your kidneys, liver, heart, or thyroid are working
- • Help diagnose diseases such as cancer, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and HIV/AIDS
- • Find out if your medicine is working to make you better
- • Diagnose bleeding or clotting disorders
- • Diagnose anemia, such as iron-deficiency anemia, pernicious anemia, aplastic anemia, or hemolytic anemia
- • Find variations in hemoglobin such as hemoglobin S, C, or E, which are common in people of African, Mediterranean, or Southeast Asian background
- • Monitor chronic health conditions and diseases
- • Find health problems in their early stages