ACTH Stimulation Test For Aldosterone is a blood test, that helps to find out the aldosterone levels that are stimulated by ACTH.
ACTH is Adrenocorticotropic hormone produced by the pituitary gland. ACTH stimulates the production of cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that is important for regulating glucose, lipid metabolism, and for maintaining blood pressure. When cortisol is low ACTH levels are increased and vice-versa. Prolonged high levels of ACTH can stimulate aldosterone production.
Aldosterone is a hormone that is produced by the adrenal glands of the kidney. It helps in maintaining normal sodium and potassium concentrations in blood and controls blood volume and blood pressure. Overproduction of aldosterone is called hyperaldosteronism and low or underproduction is known as hypoaldosteronism.
This test is performed to check if an individual is having any abnormal levels of aldosterone in the blood or not. This test may be recommended to you by a physician if you are having any symptoms such as too fast or too slow heartbeat, muscle weakness, acidosis, excessive sweating, anxiety, depression, hair loss, insomnia, reduced sex drive, stretch marks, headache and dizziness, weight loss and weight gain etc.
This test also helps the doctors to plan the treatment according to the medical condition. This test is also performed to check the effectiveness of the treatment.
Inform your doctor if you are on any medications, have any allergies or underlying medical conditions before your Acth Stimulation Test For Aldosterone Blood. Your doctor will give specific instructions depending on your condition on how to prepare for Acth Stimulation Test For Aldosterone Blood.
No specific preparation is necessary for this test.
Your test results may be true negative or uninformative negative.
If your test results show low levels of aldosterone then it may indicate that there may be a problem with either the pituitary gland or adrenal gland, or maybe a chance of having Addison disease Insufficient production of hormones by adrenal glands or Ectopic Cushing Syndrome Exposure to high cortisol levels for long time due to extra ACTH.
If your test results show high levels of aldosterone then it may indicate that you may be suffering from Conn Syndrome or Secondary Aldosteronism. In some cases, it may indicate abnormal blood pressure.
If abnormal test results were seen, consult your doctor or a genetic counselor immediately with your test reports.
| Gender | Age groups | Value |
| UNISEX | All age groups | 20 ng/dl |