Did you ever receive those compelling invitations from a private health provider inviting you for a ‘Health Check” or ‘Health MOT’? While going through the invitation, it offered the following tests and treatments.
- A body composition analysis.
- Blood pressure measurement.
- An ECG or Electrocardiogram.
- A 25 component blood analysis.
- Measurement of peripheral arterial blood flow.
Well, this is sound really impressive. Read further to know about private health screening and how you can avail the most benefit from it. You can also find your nearest private GP clinic while you need health screening done.
About Health Screening
Do you tend to ignore your heath condition till something goes wrong? Well, you must be among those who suddenly find themselves in the hospital and need to perform different tests. There are effective ways to protect your health condition. In simple words, screening is generally defined as ‘a system of checking for the presence or absence of a disease, ability or attribute’. With medical screening, there is a series of criteria that can denote the value of a procedure. These criteria had first been determined in the year 1968 and since then are being reviewed as well as updated by the UK National Screening Committee.
In a nutshell, the key principles include the following:
- The condition that need to be screened is an important problem
- The nature and progression of your condition has to be understood properly
- There must be an early detectable stage
- The treatment done at an early stage will be more beneficial than at a later stage
- There are some suitable tests to be conducted
- The test has to be accepted by the ones that need to be screened Intervals for repeating the test need to be determined
- The health service must cope up with extra workload that result from screening
- The risks for physical and psychological has to be less than its benefits
- The costs must be balanced against the benefits
Getting the whole picture
Detecting major facts about the individual in the form of a medical history is extremely important. It will enable test results to be interpreted in an accurate way. Conducting a physical examination can add much more clarity to the interpretation as these processes let any tests to be targeted to an individual.
It is also necessary to know that one individual measurement might not always be an indicative of a problem. For example, a single isolated blood pressure reading might be invalid for several reasons. An anxious person, observer error or poor equipment calibration are some probable reasons behind it.
Common screening tests
- PSA testing is an indicator for your prostate cancer. It suggests that the probable harm caused by treating men who have inaccurately tested positive will outweigh the benefits.
- Electrocardiographs (ECGs), have been done as a part of general heart health check that help to detect probable presence of arrhythmia or atrial fibrillation in.
- CT or MRI Scans are usually performed as part of a full health MOT. They possess some risks of radiation exposure with them that has chances of benign growths to cause problems and unnecessary intervention.
- Cholesterol tests can be effective only when assessed into the context of predicted cardiovascular risk of an individual.
- Calcium testing is usually done as a way means to check for ‘bone and muscle function’ or ‘bone bio-chemistry’. The NHS will order this for diagnostic and monitoring purposes only and increased levels might be false when taken out of the context.
8 Screening tests that can save your life
- General health check such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke or kidney disease
- Cervical screening
- Bowel cancer screening
- Blood pressure tests
- Breast screening
- Cholesterol tests
- Skin checks
- Vaccinations
Thus, this will give you some kind of psychological reassurance and improve your overall well-being. Alternatively, your present heart condition will help to detect certain abnormalities that would have required further interpretation from a medical professional and certainly the repetition of some of these tests.
Other health screenings to perform and stay protected
Heart disease
Risk factors are the following:
- Diabetes
- Increased cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Smoking
- Overweight
Bowel conditions
Risk factors include the following:
- History of inflammatory bowel disease
- Obesity
- Polyposis syndromes (FAP)
- Smoking
- Diet high in meat and low in vegetables and fibre
Faecal occult blood (FOB)
This stool test detects blood in the stools even when it is not visible to naked eyes. This is helpful for certain conditions such as haemorrhoids, diverticular disease, ulcers and early signs of cancer. It is suggested that patients above 50 years perform their tests once in a year.
Colonoscopy
The test provides doctors with a clear picture of large bowel and is usually done under sedation. The detailed test has the benefit of taking biopsies for any suspicious looking lesions. It is recommended to undergo 10 yearly colonoscopies for low risk patients.
Lung conditions
Risk factors are the following:
- Smoking
- Passive smoking
- Exposure to radiation
- Exposure to asbestos
Breast Cancer
Risk factors include the following:
- Family history
- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
- Combined contraceptive pill
- Certain genes
Prostate Cancer
Risk factors include the following:
- Age
- Family record
- Ethnicity
Osteoporosis
Risk factors include the following:
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Low BMI
- Women after the menopause
- Premature menopause
- Family record
- Use of steroids
- Underactive thyroid
- Diabetes (type 1)
- Smoking
- Alcohol
You may schedule a private GP appointment in London at the clinic on the same day. Don’t forget to discuss everything in details with the GP so that you can stay away from unnecessary health problems in future. This will enable you to undergo necessary tests so that the treatment can be done within the specified time. Thus, if you are still having any health-related issues, contact your GP private to discuss about them before it is too late.
