Quick answer TPO antibodies (thyroid peroxidase antibodies, anti-TPO) show that your immune system is reacting to your thyroid. They mark Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, yet about 1 in 10 healthy people test positive. With a normal TSH, the American Thyroid Association says you don’t need thyroid hormone, only TSH checks over time. In the UK Whickham survey,…
Quick answer The triglyceride to HDL ratio is your triglycerides divided by your HDL cholesterol. It’s an indirect clue to insulin resistance, not a diagnosis. In US units (mg/dL), 3.0 or more was the cut-off that best picked out insulin resistance in a 2003 Stanford study, and below 2.0 sits under most published cut-offs. In…
Quick answer An Apple Watch hypertension notification means the watch found patterns in 30 days of optical heart sensor data that are linked with high blood pressure. It doesn’t measure your blood pressure, and it isn’t a diagnosis. The next step is a validated upper-arm cuff and 7 days of home readings, morning and evening,…
Quick answer FIB-4 is a score built from your age, AST, ALT and platelet count. It estimates the chance of advanced liver scarring (fibrosis). Below 1.30 (below 2.00 if you’re 65 or over), advanced fibrosis is unlikely. From 1.30 (or 2.00) up to 2.67, the result is indeterminate and usually leads to a second test:…
Quick answer A full blood count (FBC in the UK, complete blood count or CBC in the US) counts and measures your red cells, white cells and platelets. One NHS lab’s adult hemoglobin range is 130–180 g/L for men and 115–165 g/L for women; Mayo Clinic’s US range is 13.2–16.6 and 11.6–15.0 g/dL. One line…
Quick answer Corrected calcium (UK: adjusted calcium) estimates your total calcium as if your albumin were normal. US units: calcium + 0.8 × (4.0 − albumin g/dL). UK units: calcium + 0.02 × (40 − albumin g/L). A typical adult range is 8.8–10.4 mg/dL (2.20–2.60 mmol/L). High results most often come from an overactive parathyroid…
Quick answer U&E stands for urea and electrolytes. It’s the UK’s routine blood test of sodium, potassium, urea, creatinine and eGFR. UK harmonised adult ranges are sodium 133–146 mmol/L, potassium 3.5–5.3 mmol/L and urea 2.5–7.8 mmol/L. The US equivalent is the basic metabolic panel (BMP), which reports urea as BUN in mg/dL. A high potassium…
Quick answer HOMA-IR estimates insulin resistance from one fasting blood test: fasting glucose (mmol/L) × fasting insulin (µIU/mL) ÷ 22.5. The model was calibrated so that a normal reference adult scores 1. Higher numbers mean your body needs more insulin to hold fasting glucose steady. There is no official cut-off. The University of Oxford team…
The Omega-3 Index is one of the most useful health tests you have probably never heard of. Millions of people swallow a fish-oil capsule every morning and simply hope it is doing something — with no way of knowing whether it actually is. This single blood test answers that question directly: it measures how much…
A smartwatch AFib alert can be genuinely unnerving: one glance at your wrist, and your watch is suddenly telling you that your heart rhythm may not be normal. Before you panic — or dismiss it — here is the balanced truth from a doctor’s point of view. That alert is worth taking seriously, because the…