The health care provider may tell you to temporarily stop taking certain medicines before the test.
Drugs that can increase LDH measurements include:
Anesthetics
Aspirin
Colchicine
Clofibrate
Cocaine
Fluorides
Mithramycin
Narcotics
Procainamide
Statins
Steroids (glucocorticoids such as hydrocortisone or prednisone)
Do not stop taking any medicine before talking to your provider.
How the Test will Feel
When the needle is inserted to draw blood, some people feel slight pain. Others feel only a prick or stinging. Afterward, there may be some throbbing or a slight bruise. This soon goes away.
Why the Test is Performed
LDH is an enzyme found in many body tissues such as the heart, liver, kidney, skeletal muscle, brain, blood cells, and lungs. When body tissue is damaged, LDH is released into the blood.
The LDH test helps determine the location of tissue damage.
LDH exists in five forms, which differ slightly in structure.
LDH-1 is found primarily in heart muscle and red blood cells.
LDH-2 is concentrated in white blood cells.
LDH-3 is highest in the lung.
LDH-4 is highest in the kidney, placenta, and pancreas.
LDH-5 is highest in the liver and skeletal muscle.
All of these can be measured in the blood.
What Abnormal Results Mean
LDH levels that are higher than normal may suggest:
There is little risk in having your blood taken. Veins and arteries vary in size from one person to another and from one side of the body to the other. Taking blood from some people may be more difficult than from others.
Other risks associated with having blood drawn are slight but may include:
Excessive bleeding
Fainting or feeling lightheaded
Multiple punctures to locate veins
Hematoma (blood accumulating under the skin)
Infection (a slight risk any time the skin is broken)
Review Date:
2/28/2023
Reviewed By:
Jacob Berman, MD, MPH, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.