YOUR HEALTH with Dr . Thakkar
YOUR HEALTH with Dr . Thakkar
HOW HEALTHY ARE YOU ?
Are you aged between 40 and 74 ? If so , you may be eligible for a free NHS health check . “ Why bother ?” you may ask . Quite simply , because there is no doubt that prevention is better than cure . And , like our cancer screening programmes ( such as for bowel cancer ), many patients don ’ t take up the offer - despite this being a free service .
So what do NHS health checks test for ? The check focuses on cardiovascular risk but has other added benefits such as cancer risk reduction and dementia checks . Risk factors for heart disease and stroke include high blood pressure , high cholesterol , smoking , diabetes and obesity . The check helps to identify and manage all of these . Bucks has a programme to support people who are overweight and who smoke , as managing both of these significantly reduces the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease .
It ’ s important to appreciate that without testing patients may be unaware they have high blood pressure , high cholesterol or diabetes , which is why these conditions may be considered to be silent killers . Patients whose risk factors haven ’ t been identified early tend to have poorer outcomes as their health may deteriorate unabated , increasing the chance of serious complications .
Complications of diabetes include visual impairment or even blindness , kidney failure , gangrene and foot amputation , stroke and heart disease . The complications of poorly managed high blood pressure include stroke , heart disease , kidney damage and eye disorders .
The health check usually requires a blood test followed by a meeting with a member of the practice nursing team . Some practices will offer a heart tracing test if the pulse is found to be irregular . Results will be discussed and a risk score of heart disease and stroke will be generated for the patient . Lifestyle advice will also be made available . Abnormal results will need to be managed accordingly and patients with newly diagnosed conditions such as diabetes will need a lot of care to ensure the risk of complications is minimised .
There is some evidence that many patients with abnormal results , such as high blood pressure , tend not to return to their GP for further management . Clearly this is a risk to health and well-being .
The message here is similar to that from many of my previous articles , and that is - please do start to look after your own health . That means controlling your weight , making an effort to exercise and get help to stop smoking , take your medications as prescribed rather than wasting them , and absolutely engage in initiatives such as health checks .
They may just save your life .
Dr . Thakkar is a GP at Pound House Surgery
Chiltern Clinical Commissioning Group
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