To always keep an eye on our state of health it is important to periodically carry out blood tests. It is now known, in fact, that alongside a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition, there must also be proper prevention.
Especially after a certain age, blood tests could literally save our lives.
In fact, these are among the most important diagnostic tests for detecting pathologies, infections, tumors and much more. For example, it is important to keep an eye on these 4 blood values because they can reveal bad liver diseases.
Today, however, we will see that this altered blood value could be the wake-up call for serious cancers such as leukemia.
One of the blood values to be constantly monitored is that of the ESR, that is the erythrocyte sedimentation rate. This test basically measures the rate at which red blood cells separate from the plasma and settle to the bottom of the tube.
As the National Institute of Health reports, this test is useful in case there is a suspicion of inflammation, or an infection in the body.
Or if the patient has symptoms associated with diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
However, taken individually, this blood index is not very specific because it does not clarify the causes of the inflammation. Therefore it is clear that in the presence of high levels, above the ranges, more in-depth investigations must be carried out.
Values above the range
The normal reference values, expressed in millimeters per hour, differ by age and sex, as follows:
- for men aged between 20 and 49, the normal range is between 0 and 13, with an average value of 5;
- for those aged between 50 and 69, the range is between 0 and 19, with ESR on average equal to 7;
- for women aged between 20 and 49, normal values are between 0 and 21, with an average value of 9;
- for women between the ages of 50 and 69, the values can be between 0 and 28, with an average ESR value of 12.
Diseases associated with elevated ESR values
Values higher than the ranges indicated above, therefore, could be the index of a non-optimal state of health. In fact, as already mentioned, this altered blood value could be the alarm bell of serious cancers such as leukemia, but not only.
An increase in ESR could be associated with, for example, anemia, mononucleosis, or stroke.
Low values, on the other hand, could indicate an increase in red blood cells in the blood, or in red blood cells that are below average in size.
In any case, once the analyzes have been carried out, it is always important to discuss with your doctor to decide what to do.
(We remind you to carefully read the warnings regarding this article, which can be consulted WHO”)