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General Health
Can Your Blood Sugar Be Normal While Your Insulin Is High?
When patients think about diabetes or metabolic health, they usually think of blood sugar. That is understandable: glucose is one
October 21, 2026
High cholesterol usually causes no symptoms, which is why a cholesterol blood test is the only reliable way to know your levels. Cholesterol results are considered alongside other factors such as age, blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, family history and existing cardiovascular disease when assessing overall heart and circulation risk.
Our cholesterol blood test in London provides a detailed breakdown of the main blood fats measured in a standard cholesterol profile. This can help you and your clinician understand whether further lifestyle advice, repeat testing or medical review may be appropriate.
If you specifically want a detailed explanation of the wider lipid panel and each marker, see our lipid profile blood test page. For broader cardiovascular assessment, you may also want to discuss heart health screening with one of our doctors.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in the blood and in cells throughout the body. Your body needs cholesterol for normal functions, including cell membranes, hormone production and vitamin D production, but having too much cholesterol carried in certain lipoproteins can increase cardiovascular risk.
HDL cholesterol is often described as “good” cholesterol because it carries cholesterol away from the arteries towards the liver. LDL and other non-HDL cholesterol particles can contribute to fatty deposits in artery walls when levels are too high. This is why a cholesterol test is more useful when it looks at the balance between different blood fats rather than total cholesterol alone.
A cholesterol blood test uses a blood sample to measure several lipid markers. At City Walk-In Clinic, the cholesterol profile includes:
Your result is not interpreted from one figure in isolation. A clinician may consider the pattern of your results together with blood pressure, medical history, family history and conditions such as diabetes. If you are also concerned about blood sugar, our diabetes blood test can be used to assess relevant glucose markers.
For most people, there are no signs or symptoms for many years when they have high cholesterol. This is why testing is so important. However, if you experience chest pain or angina, yellowish patches forming on your skin (especially around the eyes), suffer from fatigue or feeling tired easily, struggle with shortness of breath, and have frequent headaches, you may have high cholesterol and need to be tested.
Other signs may include difficulty in digesting fatty foods, numbness in your fingers and toes, memory loss or cognitive decline, and even suffering from erectile dysfunction.
High cholesterol can be influenced by both inherited and lifestyle factors. Common contributors include:
Use our online booking engine or book your test by giving us a call.
On the online booking engine select the “appointment type” you need.
You will be seen by one of our friendly phlebotomists or trained clinicians.
Most cholesterol blood tests do not routinely require fasting. However, you may be asked to fast for up to 12 hours if your clinician or laboratory specifically requests it — for example, when triglycerides need further assessment. If fasting is required, follow the instructions you are given and drink plain water unless advised otherwise.
Tell the clinician about medicines and supplements you take. Do not stop prescribed medication unless a healthcare professional has specifically told you to do so.
A healthcare professional takes a small blood sample, usually from a vein in your arm. The skin is cleaned, a needle is inserted briefly and the sample is labelled for laboratory analysis. You may feel a short scratch or sting at the needle site.
Once the laboratory has processed your cholesterol blood test, your results are sent to you using the clinic’s normal results process. If you had a GP consultation, your doctor can discuss the results and appropriate next steps. If you booked the test without a consultation, you can take the report to your own GP or book a private GP appointment with City Walk-In Clinic for interpretation.
Below 5mmol / L
N/A
Men: above 1.0mmol/L, Women: above 1.2mmol/L
Below 4mmol/L
N/A
N/A
No
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No GP appointment requirement for blood tests
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since 1998
Experienced doctors & a professional team.
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We offer a wide range of private blood tests in London. Same-day appointments are available 5 days a week.
We work with experienced consultants & healthcare professionals who have received positive feedback from our patients, and with whom we have established long-term relationships.
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