Athletes - Post-cycle blood test profile

More About Athletes - Post-cycle blood test profile

Electrocardiogram
An electrocardiogram is used to monitor your heart. Each beat of your heart is triggered by an electrical impulse normally generated from special cells in the upper right chamber of your heart. An electrocardiogram — also called an ECG or EKG — records these electrical signals as they travel through your heart. Your doctor can use an electrocardiogram to look for patterns among these heartbeats and rhythms to diagnose various heart conditions.
An electrocardiogram is a noninvasive, painless test. Electrocardiographic changes in athletes are common and usually reflect benign structural and electrical remodelling of the heart as a physiological adaptation to regular and sustained physical training (athlete’s heart). Athetes should be evaluated in order to identify any abnormality on the 12-lead ECG, suggestive of underlying cardiac disease associated with sudden cardiac death (SCD).

Full Blood Count (FBC)
Full blood count determines general health status. It is used as a screen for a variety of disorders, such as anaemia and infection, inflammation nutritional status and exposure to toxic substances.

Total Cholesterol
Total cholesterol and it’s sub groups  HDL, LDL and Triglycerides (TG) are used in evaluating heart disease risk.
These tests are useful in the assessment of healthy individuals as well as in patients who have heart disease or have other risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure or diabetes. They are also used to monitor treatment with lipid lowering drugs.

Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP)
Alkaline phosphatase is an enzyme found in high levels in bone and liver.
This is the reason it is used to screen for or monitor, treatment for a liver or bone disorder and is part of the liver function test profile.

Liver function tests
Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), and bilirubin
These tests together as a group are refer to them as 'liver function tests'.
They detect liver damage or an inherited liver disorder.

Gamma GT
Gamma GT is used to screen for liver disease or alcohol abuse; and to help your doctor tell whether a raised concentration of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in the bloodstream is due to liver or bone disease.

Urea and Creatinine
Urea and Creatinine in blood or urine, test for normal kidney function; also utilised in monitoring treatment for kidney disease. They are a part of a basic metabolic panel.

Uric acid
Uric acid is produced by the breakdown of  nitrogen-containing compounds found in the body in substances such as nucleic acids (DNA, RNA). They enter the circulation from digestion of certain foods, drinks (alcoholic beverages like beer and wine) or from normal breakdown and turnover of cells in the body. Most uric acid is removed by the kidneys and disposed of in the urine.
Excess uric acid can cause the condition called gout – an inflammation that occurs in joints when crystals derived from uric acid form in the joint fluid. Excess uric acid can also lead to kidney disease, as a result of deposition in the kidneys or kidney stone formation, as a result of increased urinary excretion.

Electrolytes
Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Magnesium (Mg) Calcium (Ca) and others are part of basic metabolic panel. Their imbalance may be related to metabolic disorders and creates a multitude of symptoms from tiredness and muscle weakness to potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias in some patients.

Testosterone
Testosterone is used to help diagnose erectile dysfunction, infertility, early or delayed puberty, and other disorders.

Testosterone has diurnal variation and for accurate measurements blood donation should be as early in the morning as possible and no later than 10.00am

Luteinizing Hormone (LH)
Luteinizing hormone (LH) test, used to evaluate pituitary function, especially in terms of fertility problems.

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) test, used to evaluate pituitary function, especially in terms of fertility problems.

Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG)
Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), used to help evaluate a patient's androgens.

Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA)
PSA is a protein produced mainly by cells in the prostate gland and can be a useful indicator of prostate cancer. This protein can be found in all males. Elevated levels do not always indicate cancer men whose levels are increased may have an infection of the prostate gland (prostatitis) or prostate enlargement. In blood, PSA is present both as free PSA and as complexed PSA bound to other blood proteins.

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