CardioChek Deluxe Kit

I've had high triglycerides for most of my life and at age 73, I'm determined to do something about it. I plan to use the CardioCheck device between my regular lab tests to see if I'm on the right track. I don't know how accurate it is, but I know it is helpful just to go through the motions of self-monitoring my progress. The lancets are painless.

This cholesterol meter is a “fail” for me, but I need to distinguish between the seller and the product. If I could, I would rate the seller as 1 star and the product as 2 stars. For me, the meter didn’t work. I think I may have been sent a partially failed unit, but am unsure and am not going to spend any more time figuring it out. I threw it out and wrote off the $150 as a failed experiment. If you are thinking of buying this product, please consider the risks and alternatives described below. Experience: I am an engineer by training and experience. I know how to carefully follow instructions and similar activities. I wanted to track my cholesterol numbers as part of a personal experiment with different diets. I thought owning a cholesterol meter would be easier and less expensive than having a professional lab do cholesterol testing. I carefully followed the instructions for use of this meter. Basically the procedure is: prick finger with a supplied lancet, collect blood into a capillary tube to a designated marker, and, put the collected blood on a slide and insert into the meter. The meter turned out to give highly inconsistent readings - the blood samples read over a range of more than +/- 50mg/dL with blood drawn during a single ½ hour. That is too large a range to be considered remotely reliable, even if I just wanted relative rather than absolute numbers. Risks: I requested to return the product. The seller stated it was probably my fault the readings were erratic (it wasn't) and they couldn’t allow a return due to FDA regulations. I asked for the applicable FDA regulations (I work with both technical specifications and both state and federal regulations all the time). The seller then dropped the FDA argument and simply stated they don’t take returns. The FDA argument by the seller appears to be purposefully misleading. Regulations certainly prevent anyone from reselling items in certain categories, but that means a seller has to dispose of a return rather than reselling it. An example from everyday life is CVS-branded products in the same category, such as lancets. If one of their CVS-branded products doesn’t work, CVS will refund the money and then dispose of the item (I asked one of their pharmacists about this process explicitly). CVS’s idea is simple - they want to retain good customers, so will write-off the loss if something doesn’t work. This seller won’t take returns. I rate them as 1 star. The product may generally be better than the one I received, and I am willing to rate it with 2 stars with the understanding I got a meter with some problems. I decided to rate the overall experience as 2 stars, trying to be fair to the product versus the seller. But be warned: if for any reason, including reasons having nothing to do with you, the meter doesn’t work you are simply out the purchase price. Alternatives: After trying to work with the unreliable meter, I found one national testing lab, LabCorp, that will run the tests I wanted for about $30 through a website called RequestATest. I have now used their services several times and will continue to do so. In addition to being relatively cheap, the results are reliable. There are probably other labs that do the same thing; there just happens to be a LabCorp location near me so I used them. I would suggest this alternative to this meter for anyone who, like me, wanted to track their cholesterol numbers on their own.

Totally worthless. Requires a LOT of blood. The pipettes to collect the blood are impossible to use. Device returns numbers totally out of whack and all over the place. Running several tests within a few minutes returns totally different numbers in a ridiculous range. Pretty sure the calculation they are using is nothing more than a random number generator. The one star is for the two batteries that came with the meter. I was able to use those in my TV remote. The rest went into the trash. If you need a couple batteries for $150, this one is for you.

I was recently diagnosed with high triglycerides and put on Niaspan and told to cut back on sugars and carbs etc. I wanted to know between the doctor's semi-annual blood work if I was staying on track. Before, my triglycerides were 297. After a week on the Niaspan and completely cutting out sugars and most carbs and using the treadmill, my triglycerides were down to 71. I think this was skewed because the test that was high was right after holidays 4 months prior to the cardiologist appointment. But, in any case I wanted to be able to see how what I eat affects my triglycerides. The morning I was to have blood work again (after fasting) I used the CardioCheck device and my triglycerides showed 65. The actual lab work that same morning (blood taken an hour later at the lab) my triglycerides were 74. So, I believe that the device is fairly accurate for that purpose. I have not tested LDL and HDL yet using the device.

I wanted to check my cholesterol before beginning a statin. Instead of paying another $300 for lab tests, I used this instrument to track my numbers. It arrived promptly and was a very good alternative to expensive lab testing. I monitor my blood sugars and now can also monitor cholesterol. Thank you.