Proactive Wellness: Why Seniors Need Biomarker Blood Testing
Our bodies and their inner workings largely remain a mystery to us. We might know a little theory, but the veils of their complexity are astonishingly difficult to part in diagnostic terms. If we’re to have any success whatsoever, analytical science is our only hope.
This is where the biomarker blood test comes in so handy, especially when we’re in need of a little more information than a simple checkup offers. Blood tests are particularly helpful when it comes to senior health and catching potential issues before they’re able to progress into serious problems.
If you’re curious about biomarker blood testing and the benefits it offers, read on to find out more!
Biomarker Testing Benefits
To fix a problem, we first have to understand it, and that’s often harder than you might expect. Health issues sometimes have causes that are far from obvious, making their diagnoses something of a wild goose chase. Without a reliable method of pinning them down, meaningful treatment is all but impossible to achieve.
The beauty of biomarker blood testing is the amount of raw information the test gives us to narrow the search. Our blood reaches almost every part of our bodies and holds a lot of information in regard to its function. Depending on the clues unearthed by the test, phlebotomists are able to quickly and effectively outline potential issues and their causes.
For seniors, this is an invaluable asset both for peace of mind and for securing an effective health plan for the future.
Preventing Senior Health Issues
As Benjamin Franklin once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. In essence, this is what biomarker blood testing offers us. The opportunity to identify potential issues before they develop into something requiring drastic intervention, or to accurately identify the signs once they arise.
Many of our seniors may already have an idea of potential issues they’re looking to tackle head-on. Blood testing helps diagnose underlying issues that suggest a problem is about to arise, sometimes long before debilitating symptoms occur. For this reason alone it’s worth getting an annual checkup.
Early detection is key. Biomarkers reliably identify many chronic conditions long before the sufferer has any idea something may be awry. These include:
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular disease
- Kidney dysfunction
- Certain types of cancers
At a glance, it’s clear to see why biomarker blood testing is so important, especially for the elderly. Catching these issues before they get a chance to become progressive makes all the difference, making the cost of braving a needle a small price to pay.
Identifying Nutritional Deficiencies
As we age it becomes more important than ever to ensure our bodies get the nutrients they require. While youth is able to stave off some of the damage of a poor diet, there’s only so much a fast metabolism can cover up. Once our bodies begin to slow down, ensuring they’re given all the building blocks they require is of utmost importance.
Explaining this to our seniors sometimes isn’t as easy as it ought to be and our concerns may land on deaf ears. What appears to them as pointless fussing or useless overcomplication might actually be the key to their continued good health, or the solution to decline. Identifying nutritional deficiencies means shoring up a poor diet where necessary.
In certain situations, all it takes is the addition of certain foods to the diet to dramatically improve quality of life. Blood biomarker testing provides all the information necessary to determine which foods or supplements the patient requires to this end.
Tracking Chronic Conditions
Our later years tend to be when we develop more serious conditions that require careful monitoring. Hypertension and arthritis are particularly common in seniors, for example. These issues require careful monitoring to be managed successfully.
For treatments to be effective, results have to be carefully observed. No two people respond exactly the same to medications, so recording their efficacy over the duration of the patient’s treatment is important. Biomarker blood testing allows for a level of scrutiny that’s impossible to achieve otherwise.
With reliable information on hand, precise dosages of medications remove the need for guesswork based solely on observation from the outside. Carefully tracking biomarkers makes all the difference, especially while tracking relevant biomarkers. Some examples of helpful biomarkers include:
Metabolic Health
Metabolic health is concerned with how well our bodies respond to food.
- Glucose (Blood sugar): Indicates sugar levels that are important for diabetes diagnoses.
- LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein): This is the “Bad” cholesterol you may have heard of.
- Triglycerides: These are types of fat found in the blood, a marker of cardiovascular issues.
Inflammatory Markers
Inflammatory markers detect inflammation in the body caused by diseases.
- Creatinine: Higher than usual levels may indicate reduced kidney function.
- Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR): Indicates general levels of inflammation throughout the body.
- Interleukins: These proteins suggest the presence of chronic inflammatory diseases.
Liver Health Markers
These markers detect how well the liver is functioning.
- ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase): Elevated levels may indicate liver damage.
- Bilirubin: Higher than normal levels suggest liver dysfunction and/or bile duct problems.
- Albumin: Lower than normal levels reflect either malnutrition or poor liver function.
Heart Health Markers
Similar to heart health, these are markers that give us information on heart function.
- Troponin: Elevated levels suggest damage to the heart muscle itself.
- BNP (B-Type Natriuretic Peptide): High levels may indicate imminent heart failure.
- Homocysteine: Above-average levels suggest an increased probability of cardiovascular disease.
This is by far an exhaustive list, but it pays to show just how varied the list of biomarkers is and how their presence allows diagnosticians to narrow down their search.
A Biomarker Blood Test You Can Trust
At Precision Labs we understand that medical care is most effective when tuned to the individual. We aim to simplify the process of blood testing by offering industry-leading solutions to anyone who needs them. We’re proud to stand behind our biomarker blood test and offer a service that’s second to none.
If you’d like to learn more about our methods for testing for disease markers you can check out our F.A.Q. page or contact us directly with the details listed. Don’t hesitate to reach out! We’d love to hear from you.