Tips For Having Bloodwork Performed At A Lab For Peripheral Arterial Disease

Health & Medical Blog

Peripheral artery disease is caused by a blockage in the arteries and can lead to all sorts of health complications. It can be diagnosed through blood tests performed by a lab, which you can handle properly by following these protocols.

Find Out Exactly What Blood Tests are Needed

Before you head off to a lab that can test for peripheral artery disease, you need to find out exactly what blood tests are relevant to this condition. There are a lot of blood tests that exist today so you don't want to take any chances with guessing.

You just need to see your primary care physician and have them write out the blood work that's appropriate. This is very important to do if you plan on seeing a lab that's outside of your primary care physician's facility, as they'll need this information before they can process your requests.

Make Sure Phlebotomists Are Well Trained

The person that will be sticking a needle into your arm and drawing blood to check for peripheral artery disease is known as a phlebotomist. You want to make sure you find a lab that has skilled phlebotomists because it's going to help in a lot of ways.

For one, they'll have an easy time finding a vein to draw blood from so that you don't have to get stuck with a needle more than once. A well-trained phlebotomist also will know how much blood to draw for peripheral artery disease testing to be accurate. 

Tell Lab Where You Want the Results to be Sent

Whichever lab you end up visiting to see if you have peripheral artery disease, you should be able to tell them where you want your lab results sent. You just need to write this down in the intake form that you'll fill out when you first show up at the lab.

You might want the results sent directly to your primary care physician or a heart doctor that you've already been seeing for artery-related problems. You may also want the lab to send you results just so you have a copy if you ever decide to switch doctors or move to a different area.

If you show symptoms of having peripheral artery disease, you can find out if you have it for sure through blood tests performed at a specialty lab center. You just need to find the right one and work with them correctly to get back results in a convenient manner. Then you'll know what to do about your artery health.  

Contact a local cardiology physician for more info. 

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22 July 2022

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