“AST and ALT Test?”
My blood work ATL was a 20 and my AST was a 36. With a ratio of 1.8. Going to my primary physician Wednesday. What can I expect?
Male | 37 years old
2 Answers
First some context. The lab ranges are determined by your local lab that samples the community to determine what is "normal". However, where I live in San Antonio the population is disproportionally obese and diabetic, which creates a normal range that does not actually represent what is considered healthy. For most men both AST and ALT should be <30. For most women these values should be less than 20. Assuming no symptoms, the most prudent thing would be to repeat testing and see if is transient or persistent. If repeat testing continues to show elevation, then further testing could be considered. When AST/ALT ratio is >/= 2 that is very consistent with alcohol use regardless of magnitude. i.e., 20/10 vs 400/200. If you drink at all need to take a hard look at that and really be clear with your physician how much you are drinking. Best to be very exacting.
Your AST and ALT are liver blood tests. The ALT is more specific to the liver than the AST is. Other conditions besides a liver problem can increase the AST. Every lab has different reference ranges for both tests. It is possible that both of the test results that you mention are normal, but without knowing the normal range for the lab you went to, I cannot tell. The ratio that you mention is not a number that would be of consequence if both numbers are normal.
