Myoglobin Test

What is a myoglobin test?

A myoglobin test measures how much myoglobin is in your blood or pee (urine).

Myoglobin is typically found in your muscle fibers. But if something damages your heart or other muscles, the torn fibers can release myoglobin into your bloodstream. Your kidneys filter that myoglobin out of your blood and release it into your pee.

Healthcare providers use myoglobin tests to check for signs of muscle damage. They might suggest a test to help diagnose a few issues, including:

• Heart conditions
• Kidney damage
• Kidney failure
• Muscle injuries
• Muscular dystrophy
• Myositis
• Overtraining syndrome
• Seizure disorders

What is myoglobin?

Myoglobin is a protein in your skeletal muscles and your heart. It transports oxygen from your bloodstream to your muscles. Your muscles need oxygen to work properly. Myoglobin is like a tiny delivery vehicle. It’s made of amino acids, iron and other molecules that work together to hold onto oxygen. It delivers that oxygen to your muscles when they need it to convert stored energy into movements.

How does a myoglobin test work?

There are two types of myoglobin tests:

• Myoglobin blood test. Your healthcare provider or a phlebotomist will take a sample of blood from a vein (usually in your arm). They’ll insert a needle into your vein and draw out blood into a sample collection tube.
• Myoglobin urine tests. Your healthcare provider will collect a sample of your pee to test for myoglobin that your kidneys filtered out of your blood. Myoglobin urine tests use the clean-catch method. You’ll sanitize your genitals then pee into a collection cup.

There’s no special prep you need to do for either type of myoglobin test. You can eat, drink and take your medications like you normally would.

Your provider will take the sample of your blood or pee and send it to a lab. The lab will tell your provider how much myoglobin is in it.

Are there any risks or side effects?

Both kinds of myoglobin tests are safe and have no risk of severe side effects.

You might feel a sting or pinch when your provider puts the needle into your vein for a blood test. You might have a small bruise afterward. But those are usually the only side effects.

What are myoglobin test results?

Your test results will show how much myoglobin is in your blood or if there is any in your pee.

Healthcare providers classify myoglobin blood levels as normal or high. Normal myoglobin level for a blood test is usually less than 72 ng/mL (nanograms per milliliter). Some labs use different ranges to measure myoglobin levels. The results of your test might use a slightly different normal or high range. Your provider will help you understand the results of your test. They’ll tell you if need follow-up tests, appointments or treatments.

There usually shouldn’t be any detectable myoglobin in your pee. So, your provider may do a blood test to check your myoglobin level if they detect any myoglobin in a urine test.

What do myoglobin levels indicate?

A normal myoglobin level means you have an expected or typical amount of myoglobin in your blood. A high myoglobin level can be a sign of heart or other muscle damage.

A myoglobin test can’t diagnose what caused the damage. It just shows that it probably happened recently. Myoglobin in your blood or pee is a clue your provider can use to diagnose an injury or health condition.

Think about it like this. If you notice muddy footprints by the door, you can probably guess that someone forgot to take their shoes off when they got home. You can’t tell for sure which of your family members tracked the mud in just from the footprints. But you know they were there.

Myoglobin in your blood or pee is like those muddy footprints — it’s a step in the right direction to figure out if something is damaging your muscles.

When should I call my doctor?

Talk to a healthcare provider if you experience any of the following symptoms:

• Blood in your pee
• Cloudy pee
• Fatigue
• Severe muscle pain
• Pain that lasts for more than a few days with rest and taking over-the-counter pain relievers
• Pain when you pee (dysuria)