
Blood Test or Executive Blood Panel
What Can You Learn from a Blood Testing?
Comprehensive Diagnostic Evaluations at J. Flowers Health Institute
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Using a Blood Test as a Part of a Comprehensive Diagnostic Evaluation
Table of Contents
When it comes to your health, getting the complete picture often allows a doctor to make the best decisions regarding treatments and lifestyle changes. While a doctor can use their eyes and tools like a stethoscope to examine you, sometimes it’s other testing that reveals potential underlying conditions.
Is There a Blood Test for Cancer?
Common Blood Test Abbreviations
Sometimes, a doctor or other medical provider will use quick terms or abbreviations to describe a blood test. Because they refer to these tests every day, it’s easy for them to forget that you might not know the abbreviations. You can always ask for a better explanation about how or why a doctor is ordering a certain test. This guide to some of the most common tests and their abbreviations can help too.
CBC Blood Test
- Platelets
- Red blood cells
- White blood cells
CBC with Differential
- Basophils
- Eosinophils
- Lymphocytes
- Monocytes
- Neutrophils
MCV Blood Test
RDW Blood Test
CMP Blood Test
- Alanine amino transferase (ALT, SGPT)
- Albumin
- Aspartate amino transferase (AST, SGOT)
- Alkaline phosphatase (ALP)
- Bicarbonate
- Bilirubin
- Blood urea nitrogen
- Calcium
- Chloride
- Creatinine
- Glucose
- Potassium
- Sodium
- Total protein
BMP Blood Test
- Sodium
- Potassium
- Carbon dioxide
- Chloride
- Glucose
- Calcium
- Blood urea nitrogen
- Creatinine
C02 Blood Tests
C02 blood tests are tests that measure the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood. Carbon dioxide is a waste product of using oxygen. Your body carries carbon dioxide as PC02 and HC03 (also known as bicarbonate) in the blood. A doctor may order a C02 blood test (or evaluate it as part of your BMP) when you’re having problems breathing or have signs of a pH imbalance in your body.
Because C02 is linked with oxygen, you have different levels in your arterial and venous systems. Your veins carry deoxygenated blood to your heart. This means your C02 levels are going to be higher than arterial blood, which has more oxygen. Before you have a C02 blood test, ask your doctor if the blood will come from an artery or vein.
What Tubes Are Used for What Blood Tests?
Preparation for Blood Work
Fasting for Blood Work
Can I Take Medication Before a Fasting Blood Test?
Can I Drink Coffee Before a Fasting Blood Test?
Blood Test Results
You will receive most blood test results in the report form. The report will explain what tests your doctor ordered and give your results, usually with reference ranges for normal values.
How Long Does Blood Work Take?
How to Read Blood Test Results
Blood test results can look different from laboratory to laboratory. Some labs use different normal ranges based on a person’s age, weight, and gender. Most of the time, a laboratory report after a blood test will contain a “normal” range, which the laboratory may also call:1
- Reference range
- Reference interval
According to the National Cancer Institute, when a healthy person takes a blood test, most laboratories expect a person’s lab values will fall in the normal range 95% of the time.1
About 5% of the time, your results may fall outside this range.
RDW Levels
According to Healthline, a “normal” range for red cell distribution is 12.2% to 16.1% for adult females and 11.8% to 14.5% in adult men.3 Always read your laboratory’s reference ranges as they may define them differently.
RDW Blood Test High
When an RDW result is higher than normal, this value could suggest a diagnosis of:3
- Nutrient deficiencies, including folate, iron, or vitamin B-12
- Macrocytic or microcytic anemia
RDW Blood Test Low
Low RDW results are usually less helpful in making a diagnosis.3 This is because there aren’t many blood disorders that cause low LDW results. If your LDS results are low, it could be your body’s normal variation.
MCV Levels
A laboratory report should include a reference range for red blood cell sizes. Sometimes, the results may be less accurate if a woman is on her menstrual cycle because her blood counts may be slightly lower.2
MCV Blood Test High
Larger-than-expected red blood cells could indicate the following conditions:2
- Vitamin B-12 deficiency
- Folic acid deficiency
- Liver disease
- Hypothyroidism
MCV Blood Test Low
- Iron-deficiency anemia
- Thalassemia, a genetic disorder that causes low blood cell counts
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel Normal Ranges
Here are some of the potential normal reference ranges for the BMP results:4
- Blood urea nitrogen: 8 to 23 mg/dL
- Potassium: 3.5 to 5.1 mEq/L
- Chloride: 96 to 107 mEq/L
- Sodium: 136 to 145 mEq/L
- Glucose: 74 to 100 mg/dL
- Calcium: 8.6 to 10.2 mg/dL
- Carbon dioxide: 22 to 29 mEq/L
- Creatinine: 0.8 to 1.3 mg/dL
Key Takeaways
Resources
- https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/diagnosis-staging/understanding-lab-tests-fact-sheet
- https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/mcv-mean-corpuscular-volume/
- https://www.healthline.com/health/rdw-blood-test#benefits
- https://labtestsonline.org/tests/comprehensive-metabolic-panel-cmp
- https://www.healthline.com/health/co2-blood-test