This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

The Importance of Yearly Checkups and Medical Tests

Cleveland Clinic is sponsoring a Family Health and Wellness Fair at Lorain County Community College Saturday, Sept. 17.

Cleveland Clinic is sponsoring a Family Health and Wellness Fair at Lorain County Community College Saturday, Sept. 17. We’ll be offering a host of health screenings and wellness tips. These events are a great way to gather more information on your health between your yearly doctor visits.

With that in mind, I thought I would describe a few tests that everyone should have when they have their yearly physical. For men, the following tests are recommended by many physicians:

  1. Fasting blood sugar – At least one fourth of U.S. adults are known to have pre-diabetes, a condition defined as having impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, or both. People with pre-diabetes are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
  2. Fasting lipid profile – This includes total cholesterol, HDL (good cholesterol), LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglyceride levels.
  3. High-sensitive C-reactive protein – High levels of this inflammatory biomarker are predictive for future heart problems.
  4. Vitamin D level – Low levels are associated with osteopenia, osteoporosis, breast cancer, colon cancer and heart disease.
  5. PSA level – To screen for prostate cancer.

 

Find out what's happening in Avon-Avon Lakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Women do not have to have the PSA test, but they should have a routine breast exam and pap smear.

These tests are important because the sooner we can detect a health problem, the better the treatment options we have at our disposal.

Find out what's happening in Avon-Avon Lakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For more information on the Family Health and Wellness Fair at Lorain County Community College, click here.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Avon-Avon Lake