AST is an abbreviation for aspartate aminotransferase, an intracellular enzyme that plays an important role in the metabolism of amino acids. The enzyme exhibits the greatest activity in metabolic processes, which take place in the tissues of the liver, kidneys, heart, skeletal muscles and some nerve endings.
Blood test for AST is the norm in women
The average norm of AST in the blood of women is considered to be a level of 20 to 40 units per liter. In this case, lower indicators are possible, and an indication of a serious pathological process is the AST index less than 5 units per liter. Increased indicators are considered to be worthy of attention if the threshold is exceeded 45 units per liter.
Also, in the analysis of the level of AST in women, it is worth noting that his rate depends on age. So, up to 14 years, the indicator is considered to be up to 45 units, with its gradual decrease. And only by the age of 30 the upper limit of the norm is set at 35-40 units per liter.
In addition, it should be noted that in medicine, several methods are used to determine this indicator, and the normal values differ depending on which one is used. Therefore, the interpretation of the analysis should be carried out by a specialist.
The lowered level of AST in the blood
Cases when the level of AST in the blood is lower than normal, both in women and men, is not very common, and it is believed that such an indicator has no important diagnostic value. This is due to the fact that the lower limit of the normal indicator is rather blurry, and even an indicator of 10-15 units can not be considered an accurate indication of the presence of pathologies.
The decrease in the AST level may be due to:
- general exhaustion;
- lack of vitamin B6 ;
- terminal stage of cirrhosis or other severe liver damage (a sharp decrease in the indices, less than 5 units per liter).
Increased level of AST in the blood
In general, increased indicators of AST are much more frequent and may indicate:
- cirrhosis, acute hepatitis (usually the ACT jump is significant and can exceed the norm by more than 20 times);
- muscular dystrophy and dermatomyositis (exceeding the norm by about 8 times);
- acute pancreatitis , blood diseases, the initial stages of gangrene (2-5-fold excess);
- thromboembolism of the pulmonary artery (exceeding the norm by 2-3 times).
In addition to the above problems, an increase in the level of AST is observed in angina attacks and heart failure.