Heart Disease Prevention: Why Cardiac Health Checkups Are Essential

Our work leaves us with no time to include ourselves in physical exercises. This has harmed us today with incessant heart problems, cancers, mental problems, diabetes, and several hormonal imbalances. Arranging and executing an appropriate health check-up can forestall the diseases from spreading. So, it is critical to go for yearly or monthly preventive tests to build chances for treatment and cure. How often you need help depends on your age, family history, and how regularly you smoke. It is said that “prevention is better than cure”. With modern lifestyle problems, this term cannot be more relevant. In this article, Dr. Hardip Dharsandia, Chief of Laboratory Services, Metropolis Healthcare Limited (Rajkot), tells us more about the tests that one must consider doing when trying to keep the heart healthy.

It has been seen that individuals of working age (35-65 years) are the most affected by lifestyle disease. It is suggested by doctors worldwide that men, over 35 years old, and ladies, over 40 years old, should go through yearly preventive health tests. If a person has a family history of a specific disease, it is advisable to start screening tests 10 years prior, when the youngest individual from the family developed that specific problem (e.g. diabetes mellitus, heart diseases, elevated cholesterol level, hypertension, cancer of breasts, prostate, colon, and so on). General preventive measures include daily physical exercise, adequate rest, a nutritious and balanced eating routine, abstaining from smoking and tobacco use, vaccination against specific diseases, and normal medical checkups.

A significant part of bringing down the danger of heart illnesses is overseeing health practices and risk factors like diet quality, physical activity, smoking, weight (BMI), BP, all-out cholesterol, or blood glucose. But how would you realize which risk factors you have? Your doctor may perform or demand screening tests during regular visits.

Not many of us have ideal danger levels on all screening tests. However, in the event that you do have test results that are not exactly ideal, it doesn’t mean you’re bound to develop cardiovascular disease. However, it implies you’re in a situation to start changing your health in a positive manner.

A few estimations like body weight and blood pressure are taken during the routine appointments and some cardiovascular screening tests start at age 20. The recurrence of follow-up will rely upon your level of risk.

Even if you don’t have a current cardiovascular condition, regular check-ups are a great way to detect potential risk factors and prevent several heart conditions. During your heart screening, your doctor can check for these risk factors by performing a series of tests and then create the best treatment options for you. Treatment options can be anything from lifestyle changes to medications. At your check-up, you can expect:

A blood pressure test can be performed to detect high blood pressure. High blood pressure puts a higher strain on your heart and can cause severe damage to your arteries. If left untreated, blood clots can develop, which can lead to a heart attack or heart failure.

These are screening tests to detect cardiac diseases and are often performed during preventive health check-ups.

In the early days of your 20’s, you should begin to have your cholesterol checked once every 4-5 years. Knowing your numbers is essential high cholesterol has no symptoms, so you won’t know you’re at risk until you are tested.

This type of test measures the amount of sugar (glucose) in your blood. A blood glucose test can also help diagnose diabetes. If left untreated, diabetes can cause heart disease and stroke.

These are some other tests that one can do to detect cardiac markers related to cardiac diseases. Various studies have been done which signify the correlation of these parameters with cardiac metabolism and hence the importance of their testing.

Routine heart check-ups and screenings give you the best chance of receiving the right treatment quickly and diagnosing underlying medical conditions promptly. By scheduling these health services regularly, you can be assured you are taking the correct steps to a longer, healthier life.