What is a doctor usually looking for when he orders blood test?

I went to my doctor today and told him about my high heart rate and sleeping problems along with my depression. He ordered some blood test that was taken in the office... I go back in two weeks. What is he looking for?|||It depends on which blood tests he ordered. A CBC will tell him whether or not you are anemic or getting an infection. It can also tell you whether or not your blood cells are healthy and well formed. A hemoglobin A1c will tell him if you have diabetes and don't know it. Electrolytes will tell him if the fluid that helps your body conduct electrical signals has the right proportion of minerals (if it's off, it can affect your heart rhythm). He can check your cholesterol level by checking your triglycerides. And there are many more - sedimentation rates, coagulation studies.





Lots of stuff. It's an easy test that tells a lot about your body.|||This is a good website:





http://www.bloodbook.com/ranges.html|||My best guess is if you are hyperthyroid. They are looking for anything out of the normal range that might explain your symptoms, so they will check a whole varity of things starting with the most common.|||More than likely, it's not one single test, and usually multiple tests can be run out of one blood tube (depending on the test), while other tests (tissue typing, type/cross) require more than one tube. There's really no way to tell.





Call the office, and ask what is on your chart, then read up on the tests so you know what he's talking about, and are able to ask questions. labtestsonline.org is a great reference site for lab tests.