CardioChek Portable Blood Test System (NOT a PT INR Machine)

I love this machine! It is so simple. It is good to have and check my numbers in between doctor appointments.

I bought this product because I have very high tryglicerides... After purchasing it and expensive strips I see in the user manual that the device will display an error if your tryglicerides are over 400... Mine are at 1200, down from over 3000 and hopefully, still improving, but it will be a long time before I can use this device to test them- and with the 'expiration date' on the test strips, some of them just a few months away, all of this is basically junk. I took my cholestrol since that should be in range and it read 258... I'm not sure how much I trust it as my fasting cholestorl as measured by the doctor last week was 40 points higher. I sure hope it's a legitimate result but I know it should be higher, a lot higher. Also the single use lancets supplied mean that if you 'miss' or don't get a good prick you'll have to buy/find your own- I wish they used the standard lancet type pen that comes with glucose meters, you'd think for what they are charging for the test strips they could provide quality lancets. It's a great idea and I hope in coming years better meters come out that can test faster, larger ranges, and such- but this isn't there yet. I guess if you're levels are are 'normal' you can use it but why would you waste your money on this if you're levels are decent to begin with.

You really need to research this item before you buy it....read all the reviews...there are some really good ones with helpful informative info as well as a bunch written by people who did not read the instructions. I'm giving it 3 stars because it works, but only if you do things perfectly and in order to do it perfectly, it is really hard if you are alone and only slightly easier if someone is helping you. The biggest issue I have is with the blood extraction. The spring loaded finger lances barely give you enough blood if you don't use them perfectly. On top of that the plastic squeeze blood capture things are a giant pain to use and barely work. You need a decent amount of blood to make this work, not a teaspoon but more than you can get unless you do everything perfectly. I apologize for saying "perfect" so much but I am trying to stress how difficult it can be to get enough blood. Once you have enough it works fine, but given the cost, there is little room for trial and error, so here are a few tips. 1 - Use your non-dominate hand as you'll need you dominate hand's dexterity, especially if you are doing this alone. 2 - Don't use your thumb or pinky. 3 - Clean your skin with alcohol and let it dry completely before drawing blood. 4 - Press the lancet firmly against your finger before you trigger it, if you don't you'll barely get any blood as it wont penetrate deep enough. They do not hurt any more than a small pinch at worst. You will NOT get any moderate pain let alone severe pain, but you will waste the lancet if you dont press firmly. 5 - Use your thumb to press against the bottom of your finger tip hard enough to turn your finger tip red before triggering the lancet, this will help you obtain more blood. 6 - DO NOT squeeze the blood out once you've triggered the lancet, let it flow on its own, if you squeeze it you can get mixed results. 7 - You may want to skip the plastic syringe type thing they provide and instead dab the blood directly onto the test strip. 8 - Make sure your device is tested and calibrated before you start drawing blood. 9 - READ THE MANUAL before you draw blood. 10 - Have someone help you. It makes the whole process much easier. If they made the blood extraction easier I would easily give this 4-5 stars. But getting the blood out correctly is critical to an accurate test and is difficult to do at best. The #'s are good but not laboratory good. So don't expect a perfect match with your lab #'s. This is more useful for week to week or month to month monitoring, especially if you are not using a statin and are trying to find out which supplements work and which do not.

Works great if you follow instructions. Talked to local pharmacist and he was not aware that such a system was available.So naturally neither machine nor test strips are available...I am really pleased how it works, and I too had test done by doctor and then used portable test system..Was close enough for me...I do not like statins so i only take half a dose a day and want to make sure i stay in the safe range.

This unit works, however it requires care on the part of the user to get good results. It is worth discussing with your physician whether or not to trust the numbers the system reports, and of course keep your doctor in the loop about the results. I've owned three of these. In my own personal experience and testing, I found that one of them was a little off and consistently reported results lower than the other two. Being an engineer, I noted the difference and actually use that to my advantage: I use two meters at the same time and look at the ratio of the reported results. If the ratio is consistent with my previous data I trust the results. I also find that, yes, there is variation among test strips. I always use TWO or THREE strips at the same time and AVERAGE the results. Doing that has yielded the most accurate results. I've compared those to lab tests as follows: fast overnight, do three or more of same type of test strip (e.g. only TOTAL, or only HDL), go to the doctor within 1 hour of my own test for blood draw, return home within an hour and test again (of course no food or drink in between). I've done this on multiple occasions and the results of the lab testing is consistent with my own home testing within 5-10%. Which is what the manufacturer claims in their inserts. As others have noted here, cholesterol is not a static number. It varies widely in my personal experience (and from what I've read online). You also need to be very careful to use GLASS pipettes for blood draw since these are the most accurate. The bottom line is that you will get good results if you use this unit carefully. And again, never make treatment decisions on your own. Use the unit to help you when working with your physician. It will show you trends and help you achieve your goals for lowering your cholesterol.

I needed to be able to get a total cholesterol and this device is able to give it. I called the manufacturer and they were quick to respond to my questions. The device is easy to use.