Medical Chemistry and Blood Tests

Chemistry is involved in various medical procedures, including epidurals and blood work.

In a hospital setting, morning labs are common.
Students going to clinicals should expect to be there early, potentially by 5 AM.
Blood work is often drawn at 5 AM to measure levels when they are at their highest due to the body being at homeostasis during sleep.
Drawing blood at this time provides the most accurate levels of what's going on in the body.

Troponins are drawn to check if someone is having or has had a heart attack.
Troponin is a protein found in the heart that is released into the bloodstream when there is heart damage.
If troponin is drawn in an outpatient setting, it needs to be followed by accuracy.
Multiple troponin draws are done to monitor heart damage trends.
- Example: initial level at 50, second at 100, and third at 200 indicates continuous heart damage.
Trending up means there's more heart damage and the heart attack is continuing.
Trending down means the heart attack has stopped, and the heart is healing.

Symptoms of a heart attack can differ in women compared to men.
Women may experience left arm pain, chest pain, numbness, difficulty moving their arm, or indigestion.

Medications used to treat seizures are monitored through blood levels.
Blood is drawn in red and blue top tubes to check medication levels.
If a patient is still having a seizure, the medication dosage may need to be adjusted based on blood levels.

A1C tests indicate average sugar levels over the past six months.
A1C levels:
- Higher than 5.something indicates diabetes.
- Lower than 5 indicates not diabetic.
- Around 5 indicates pre-diabetes.
- 6, 7, and 8 indicate diabetes.