Insist that total blood fats (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides) be checked and compared, as now recommended by the US National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel. Also, as one Canadian study advises, insist on having two tests done – at different times, between one and eight weeks apart, and preferably by different labs (Can Fam Physician, 1995; 41: 240-5).