Other names: LACTIC ACID DEHYDROGENASE, LD
Optimal Result:
121 - 224 U/L.
Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is an essential enzyme found in nearly every living cell. It plays a primary role in energy production, specifically in glycolysis—the process by which cells convert sugar into energy. During glycolysis, LDH facilitates the conversion of pyruvate into lactate, a crucial step when oxygen levels are low, such as during intense exercise or in specific health conditions.
LDH exists in five distinct forms, called isoenzymes (LDH-1 through LDH-5), which are distributed across different tissues like the heart, liver, muscles, and kidneys. Each isoenzyme is associated with specific organs or tissues: for example, LDH-1 is abundant in the heart, while LDH-5 is found in the liver and skeletal muscle. Analyzing these specific isoenzymes can sometimes help pinpoint the location of tissue damage.
Elevated LDH levels in the blood can signal tissue damage or disease, as cells release LDH when they are injured or destroyed. In clinical settings, high LDH levels serve as an important diagnostic tool to help detect and monitor various health conditions, including heart attacks, liver disease, muscle injuries, and certain types of cancer. Elevated LDH levels are also valuable in oncology, as they can indicate tumor progression or a response to treatment, with cancer cells releasing LDH when they die.
Additionally, increased LDH levels can help diagnose infections and inflammatory conditions. For instance, bacterial infections, viral hepatitis, and autoimmune diseases may elevate LDH levels, reflecting the body’s response to these conditions. Chronic diseases, like certain types of anemia (especially hemolytic anemia), are also associated with high LDH, aiding in differentiating between types of anemia and other blood disorders.
Notably, recent research has linked elevated LDH levels with severe cases of COVID-19. In COVID-19 patients, high LDH levels may correlate with significant lung involvement and a greater need for respiratory support, making LDH a useful marker in assessing disease severity.
While LDH levels alone cannot specify the exact location of tissue damage, they serve as a valuable marker when combined with other diagnostic tests. By measuring LDH, healthcare providers gain a comprehensive view of tissue health, disease progression, and potential tissue damage.
References:
What elevated LDH levels might signify: Elevated levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the blood typically indicate some form of tissue damage or cellular injury. When cells are damaged or destroyed, LDH is released into the bloodstream. Therefore, high LDH levels serve as a general marker for cell damage but do not specify the exact location or cause of the damage.
The damage is usually from disease, infection, or injury. Your provider may order more tests to diagnose your condition.
But higher a than normal LDH level doesn't always mean you have a medical condition that needs treatment. High levels can be caused by intense exercise and certain medicines, including aspirin. It's also possible to have a high LDH level if many red blood cells broke open when your sample was collected and tested.
Conditions Associated with Elevations:
→ Heart Diseases:
- Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
- Congestive heart failure
→ Liver Diseases:
- Hepatitis
- Cirrhosis
→ Cancer:
- Lymphomas
- Leukemias
- Germ cell tumors
→ Muscle Diseases:
- Muscular dystrophy
- Rhabdomyolysis
→ Other Conditions:
- Hemolytic anemia
- Acute pancreatitis
- Infections (e.g., mononucleosis, sepsis)
- Kidney disease
Possible Reasons for Elevation:
- Tissue Damage: Any condition that leads to cell injury, such as physical trauma, surgery, or burns.
- Hypoxia: Situations where tissues are deprived of oxygen, such as in severe anemia or respiratory disorders.
- Malignancies: Certain cancers can cause elevated LDH due to rapid cell turnover.
- Inflammation: Diseases causing systemic inflammation can result in elevated LDH levels.
- Intense Physical Activity: Strenuous exercise can cause temporary increases in LDH due to muscle breakdown.
Potential Treatment Considerations:
- Treat Underlying Cause: Addressing the root cause of the elevated LDH is critical, whether it is treating an infection, managing cancer, or supporting heart function.
- Monitor Levels: Regular monitoring of LDH levels can help assess the effectiveness of treatment and disease progression.
- Supportive Care: Depending on the underlying condition, supportive care such as hydration, rest, and specific therapies (e.g., chemotherapy for cancer) may be required.
Other Correlated Biomarkers:
- Creatine Kinase (CK): Often elevated in muscle damage.
- Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST): Elevated in liver disease and muscle damage.
- Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT): Primarily elevated in liver conditions.
- Troponin (or Troponin T, High Sensitivity) : Used to diagnose heart attacks specifically.
- C-reactive protein (CRP) (or hsCRP): Indicates inflammation.
Nutrient Associations:
- Vitamin B Complex: Essential for energy metabolism, potentially impacting LDH activity.
- Antioxidants (e.g., Vitamin C, E): May help reduce oxidative stress and cell damage.
- Iron: Important for preventing anemia and associated tissue hypoxia.
Specific Considerations:
- Males vs. Females: Generally, LDH levels are similar across genders, but certain conditions causing elevation may be more prevalent in one gender (e.g., prostate cancer in males).
- Young vs. Old: Younger individuals may have higher baseline levels due to growth and development, whereas older individuals might have elevated levels due to age-related diseases or conditions.
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Low levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the blood are uncommon and usually not considered harmful. However, they can indicate a few potential conditions:
LDH deficiency: This is a rare genetic disorder that can occur in two forms:
- LDH-A deficiency (also known as glycogen storage disease XI): This type causes symptoms such as fatigue, muscle pain, cramping during exercise (exercise intolerance), and in some cases, muscle breakdown. It may also lead to red or brown urine due to myoglobin breakdown and potential kidney damage.
- LDH-B deficiency: People with this type typically do not experience any signs or symptoms. They are usually discovered only through routine blood tests that reveal reduced LDH activity.
Vitamin C excess: Consuming large amounts of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) may lead to lower LDH levels.
Pesticide exposure: Some studies have shown that exposure to pesticides, especially without adequate protective gear, may result in lower LDH levels.
It's important to note that while low LDH levels are rare, they don't necessarily indicate a health problem in all cases. LDH-B deficiency, for example, doesn't appear to cause any health issues despite the reduced enzyme activity .If you have low LDH levels, your healthcare provider will likely consider these possibilities along with your overall health status and any symptoms you may be experiencing to determine if further investigation or treatment is necessary.
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Import Lab Results from Any Source
Easily upload lab results from any provider, whether it's a hospital, independent lab, or home testing service. We support PDFs, scanned documents, and JPEGs from patient portals. No need to log in to multiple platforms — everything is centralized in one secure space.
Easily upload lab results from any provider — we support PDFs, scans, and images. Keep all your reports organized in one secure place.
See Your Health Timeline
Every lab result is automatically organized on a chronological timeline, giving you a complete picture of your health journey. Whether you're tracking a condition, managing treatments, or staying proactive, the timeline helps you and your doctor understand how things progress over time.
Every lab result is automatically organized on a chronological timeline, giving you a complete picture of your health journey.
Understand What Your Results Mean
Whether it's a blood test, GI panel, urinalysis, or something else, lab reports measure numerous biomarkers that reveal what's happening inside your body. Our extensive database covers over 10,000 biomarkers, providing clear, simple explanations of what each result means and how you can take action—no matter your membership level. Say goodbye to confusion and get the insights you need to better understand your health.
Our database covers over 10,000 biomarkers with clear, simple explanations—so you can finally understand your results and what to do next.
Enter Your Lab Reports Yourself — Always Free
Enter Your Lab Reports — Always Free
If you'd like to handle inputting your health data into your account, you can do so with our easy-to-use data entry forms. Our user-friendly form is designed to guide you through the quick and easy submission process, making it simple to keep track of your health metrics. This is available to both Complete plan and Unlimited plan members.
Our user-friendly form guides you through a quick, simple submission process, making it easy to enter your health metrics.
Add your results anytime with our easy entry form. It's quick, guided, and helps you stay organized — free for all members.
Visualize Your Results
View your lab data through easy-to-read graphs and tables. Quickly spot patterns, track changes, and compare results across different dates — all without digging through multiple reports. You can also select and compare graphs of specific biomarkers side-by-side to better understand how they relate and change over time.
See your lab reports in clear graphs and tables. Spot patterns, track changes, and compare results over time — all in one place.
Export Your Complete Lab History in a Single File
Export Your Complete Lab History
After collecting lab results from different providers, you can download your entire history combined into a single file. Choose from PDF, Excel, or CSV formats to easily review, share, or get a second opinion—no more juggling multiple reports.
After collecting lab results from different providers, you can download your entire history combined into a single file.
Comprehensive Data Entry Service for Your Reports
Data Entry Service for Your Reports
Our inclusive service handles the data entry for your lab reports. Just submit your information and we'll take care of the rest. Complete plan members receive one report entered for free, then $15 per report after that. Unlimited plan members receive ten report entries for free, then $15 per report after that.
Our inclusive service handles the data entry for your lab reports. Just submit your information and we'll take care of the rest.
Securely Share With Anyone You Trust
Whether you're working with a doctor, nutritionist, caregiver, or wellness coach, you can securely share your complete lab history by sending an invite link to anyone you trust. You have full control over who sees your information and for how long, ensuring your privacy and peace of mind at every step.
Share your full lab history with your doctor, nutritionist, or coach using a secure invite link.
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I have been using Healthmatters.io since 2021. I travel all over the world and use different doctors and health facilities. This site has allowed me to consolidate all my various test results over 14 years in one place. And every doctor that I show this to has been impressed. Because with any health professional I talk to, I can pull up historical results in seconds. It is invaluable. Even going back to the same doctor, they usually do not have the historical results from their facility in a graph format. That has been very helpful.
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Unlimited Plan Member since 2021
What fantastic service and great, easy-to-follow layouts! I love your website; it makes it so helpful to see patterns in my health data. It's truly a pleasure to use. I only wish the NHS was as organized and quick as Healthmatters.io. You've set a new standard for health tracking!
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As a PRO member and medical practitioner, Healthmatters.io has been an invaluable tool for tracking my clients' data. The layout is intuitive, making it easy to monitor trends and spot patterns over time. The ability to customize reports and charts helps me present information clearly to my clients, improving communication and outcomes. It's streamlined my workflow, saving me time and providing insights at a glance. Highly recommended for any practitioner looking for a comprehensive and user-friendly solution to track patient labs!
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Healthmatters Pro Member since 2024
Healthmatters is a personal health dashboard that helps you organize and understand your lab results. It collects and displays your medical test data from any lab in one secure, easy-to-use platform.
With a Healthmatters account, you can:
Professionals can also analyze client data more efficiently and save time managing lab reports.
Healthmatters.io personal account provides in-depth research on 4000+ biomarkers, including information and suggestions for test panels such as, but not limited to:
You can combine all test reports inside your Healthmatters account and keep them in one place. It gives you an excellent overview of all your health data. Once you retest, you can add new results and compare them.
If you are still determining whether Healthmatters support your lab results, the rule is that if you can test it, you can upload it to Healthmatters.
While we work with many popular labs, we welcome reports from lots of other places too.
It's as simple as this: if you can get a test done, you can upload it to Healthmatters and we can interpret results from any lab out there. If laboratories can analyze it, we can interpret it.
If you're on the hunt for a specific biomarker, contact us and we'll add it to our database. Anything from blood, urine, saliva, or stool can be uploaded, understood, and tracked with your Healthmatters account.
The Complete Plan ($15/month) is perfect for individuals who want ongoing access to their health data. It includes unlimited lab imports, visual tracking, custom ranges, result explanations, full account exports, and secure sharing — all with a simple monthly subscription. You can cancel anytime and restart your plan whenever you're ready — your data will still be there waiting for you. You can also upgrade to the Unlimited Plan at any time, with the cost prorated based on what you've already paid.
The Unlimited Plan ($250 one-time) is also designed for individuals but offers lifetime access with no ongoing subscription. You'll get all the same features as the Complete Plan, plus a larger initial data entry allowance (10 reports), making it a great choice if you prefer a one-time payment and long-term use without monthly fees.
In short:
There are two ways to add your test reports to your Healthmatters account. One option is to input the data using the data entry forms. The other method is to utilize our "Data entry service."
Our data entry forms offer an easy, fast, and free way for you to input the reports yourself. Self-entry allows you to add an unlimited number of reports at no cost. We make the self-entry process user-friendly, providing dozens of templates that pre-populate the most popular laboratory panels and offering instant feedback on entered values.
For those who prefer assistance, we offer a "Data entry service" to help you input your data. Simply attach an image or file of your lab test results, and a qualified team member from our data entry team will add the results for you.
We support various file types, including PDFs, JPGs, or Excel. This service is particularly useful if you have many reports to upload or if you're too busy to handle the data entry yourself.
Our Data Entry Service is for when you don't want to manually type in your lab results yourself. You simply upload your report (PDF, image, or screenshot), and our trained team enters the information into your Healthmatters account for you — accurately and neatly organized, ready to view in graphs, tables, and timelines.
The $15 per report covers the time and care it takes for a real person to review your file, make sure each result is entered correctly, and double-check for accuracy. This ensures your health data is precise and easy to work with — without you having to spend the time doing it yourself.
Prefer to do it yourself? You can always use our free self-entry tool to add results manually — it just takes a bit more time and attention.
For users on the Complete monthly plan, the first report is entered free of charge, and each additional report incurs a fee of $15.
Unlimited account holders enjoy the entry of ten reports without charge. Subsequent reports are subject to a $15 fee per report.
Additionally, users on the Complete plan can upgrade to a yearly subscription from the account settings. The annual subscription includes a data entry service for five reports.
All professional accounts allow you to import and onboard an unlimited number of clients and their lab results. The distinction between professional plans lies solely in the data entry service.
The Pro Monthly Plus plan is priced at $75 per month and includes a data entry service for five reports each month. Additional reports can be self-entered at no extra cost or, if preferred, you can use our data entry service for an additional fee of $15 per report.
The Pro Monthly plan is priced at $45 per month and does not include a data entry service. Self-entry is free for an unlimited number of reports, and you can opt for the data entry service at a fee of $15 per report.
You also have the option to upgrade to higher monthly or to annual plans, which come with substantial discounts. All upgrades can be done directly from your account.
Simply log in and navigate to your account settings to cancel your subscription. Scroll down to locate the 'Cancel' button at the bottom of the page. Ensure you cancel at least one day before the renewal date to prevent any charges. Once cancellation is requested, the subscription remains active until the conclusion of the current billing cycle.
Our goal has been to make your Healthmatters account as intuitive as possible.
We've crafted multiple ways for you to navigate your data, whether you're glancing at a single report or delving into your historical test reports.
1. Graph View:Dive into a visual journey with our biomarker graphs, showcasing over 40 data points. Combining years of results unveils trends, empowering you to make informed decisions. Our visualization tools make it a breeze to compare and understand changes over time, even if your results are from different labs. A search function and filters simplify the exploration of extensive data, allowing you to focus on what needs attention.
2. All Tests ViewExplore neatly organized reports on a timeline, highlighting crucial details like dates, critical results, and lab/panel names. Each report opens up to reveal in-depth descriptions and additional recommendations for each biomarker. The history of previous results is just a click away, and you can download a comprehensive report for deeper insights. Color-coded and user-friendly, it's designed for easy reading, understanding, and navigation.
3. Table View:For a holistic view of all biomarkers side by side, our table view is your go-to. Results are neatly displayed in a categorized and dated table, ideal for those with an extensive test history. Utilize sorting, filters, and color-coding to enhance your analysis and gain extra insights.
Yes, you can download your information anytime. We offer two easy ways to export your lab data:
This makes it simple to save, back up, or share your health data whenever you need.
Yes, you can print your report. To do so, navigate to "All tests" and open the report you wish to print. You'll find a print button in the right corner of the report. Click on it, and your browser's print window will open. If you prefer to print in a bigger typeface, adjust the scale using the print window settings.
Yes, you can! We highly recommend activating Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for your account. To do so, please navigate to the "Profile and Security" section of your account, where you will find instructions for activating 2FA.
Yes, you can. When entering values for the biomarker, you will see an "Edit Range" button. Click this button, and you'll have the option to enter a custom range.
A personal account is all about keeping your own lab test results in check. It's just for you and your personal use.
The professional account is designed for health professionals who wish to track and organize their clients' laboratory results.
To learn more about Healthmatters Pro, please refer to the professional page.
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.
