Super important! Don't skip your annual health assessments
Don't sleep on your health!
It's that time of year where we have to check up on ourselves.
Nip any problems in the bud by going to the doc for a yearly check-up.
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Health e-news shares: "Once you reach the age of 45, these yearly visits become imperative. Early detection and treatment will not only give one a better quality of life, but also possibly a longer life."
Furthermore, Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa, Vice Chairperson of the South African Medical Association (SAMA), highlighted the importance of these health check-ups. He also reminded the younger generation that they aren’t immune.
Having an annual checkup is very important. And the purpose is to detect any abnormalities in your system, before they develop. So, it’s very important that you pick it up in in the early stages of the disease.
Taking a deeper dive into the statistics, a national survey conducted in early May 2022 in the United States shares that one-third of men do not think they need annual health screenings.
In response to this, Dr. Thomas Kelley, family medicine specialist at Orlando Health Physician Associates, shares: “Even if you think you’re healthy and you’re not experiencing any symptoms, there can be developing issues that often go unnoticed and can also be life-threatening if left unchecked [including] rising blood pressure that can be a ticking time bomb for a heart attack or stroke, as well as colon cancer, which is one of the most deadly yet preventable cancers that exist.”
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Remember, prevention is better than cure. Taking measures to check up on your health could save your life.
Here are some vital signs checked by your doctor as shared by WebMD:
- Blood pressure: Less than 120 over less than 80 is a normal blood pressure. Doctors define high blood pressure (hypertension) as 130 over 80 or higher.
- Heart rate: Values between 60 and 100 are considered normal. Many healthy people have heart rates slower than 60, however.
- Respiration rate: From 12 to 16 breaths per minute is normal for a healthy adult. Breathing more than 20 times per minute can suggest heart or lung problems.
- Temperature: 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit is the average, but healthy people can have resting temperatures slightly higher or lower.
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