Many people think there is no point in consulting a physician if they feel healthy and have no signs or symptoms associated with a health problem or a disease.
What they fail to consider is that a number of serious diseases, including some cardiovascular diseases, progress slowly and display few or no early warning signs.
There are some very simple ways of preventing or at least reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Preventive medical screening can detect early stages of certain diseases and identify an imbalance or factors that may predispose an individual to develop a disease. This type of preventive screening allows for changes to the current situation and often saves lives.
Regular check-ups and tests are also required to minimize the risk of developing other diseases.
A healthy person with no family history of heart disease should:
- Have blood pressure checked at least every second year after age 20.
- Have glucose levels tested no later than age 30 and approximately every second year thereafter.
- Have cholesterol levels tested no later than age 40 for men with reassessments every two years. Women should be tested when entering menopause and retested every 12 to 24 months thereafter.
Why not discuss this with your physician at your next appointment?