To keep you and your employees in peak health with no chronic illness, we recommend annual health checks and the following ‘must have’ medical tests when appropriate. WHY? Because we care about you and your health.
- CAT scan of coronary arterieswith CT coronary angiography and /or coronary calcium score – to find plaque before it finds you
- Colonoscopy – to detect polyps and prevent bowel cancer
- V-Scan of your heart and organs – to ensure you are healthy inside too
- Skin check your whole body with a dermatoscope – to detect melanoma while it is still curable
- Stress score – because stress can kill you
- Personal heart attack or stroke score – to assess your risk of a heart attack or stroke in the next 5 years and what we need to do about it now…
CAT Scan of your coronary arteries
We suggest an X-ray image of your coronary arteries with CT coronary angiography and/or coronary calcium score.
Why?
Because most people don’t get a warning before their heart attack or stroke – 6 in 10 men and 1 in 2 women. That’s why it is important to find the plaque before it finds you.
When?
Men in their 60s and women in their 70s – unless their risk levels are high in which case we would recommend this test sooner. Other triggers for when this test is needed are:
- when your 5 year risk approaches 7% or above
- where you have a very strong family history (or something else going on genetically)
- when you have an abnormal exercise stress test
How often?
Once every 4 or 5 years.
Colonoscopy
Why?
Because bowel cancer always begins with polyps which can be detected 95% of the time with a colonoscopy. Bowel cancer is the second most common cancer killer – after lung cancer and before breast and prostate cancer.
When do you need a colonoscopy?
When you turn 50 if you have an average risk. If your risk is higher we might suggest a colonoscopy sooner.
How often?
If you have had polyps (which can lead to cancer), then every 3 to 4 years.
If you haven’t had polyps, then every 5 to 10 years.
V-Scan your heart and organs
Why V-Scan your heart and organs?
Because a V-Scan can pick up warning signals before disease develops – conditions that aren’t easily found from a physical examination.
Ultrasound screening of your heart and abdominal solid organs enables us to see if all is structurally well. It allows us to find warning signs before disease develops telling us when to investigate further. So far we have found and successfully treated heart valve leakages, disease heart muscle, kidney cysts, splenic aberrations etc. Early detection is powerful prevention.
When and how often?
We will recommend a V-Scan if we think it is necessary. You are also welcome to request a V-Scan. Please let us know if you would like further information.
Skin check – whole body with a dermatoscope
Why?
Melanoma is one of the top 10 cancer killers. If detected early, it has a 100% cure rate.
How often?
Annually – it is one of the few cancers that kills younger people too.
Stress score – DASS or K10
There is considerable evidence showing chronic stress permanently damages your health: health attack and stroke, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, major depression, and death.
A recent study in the European Heart Journal (June 2013) shows that high stress increases your future risk of coronary disease by between 50-100%.
That’s why we do your stress score once a year.
Personal heart attack or risk score
Why?
Because it alters how we treat your risk factors, what tests we do and how we think about preserving your heart muscle and brain. Remember approximately 1 in 4 will die of a “plumbing problem” or a blocked artery.
How often?
Every year.
How do you calculate my risk?
By doing a statistical calculation based upon your critical risk variables. This gives us a good indication of how high your risk is.
What are the risk variables?
There are a number:
- Gender – being a male is worse
- Age
- Blood pressure – ideal systolic is 120 mmHg
- Smoking – doubles your risk
- Diabetes – doubles your risk
- Family history – if you have a 1st degree male relative (father, son, brother) who had a heart attack or stroke before 55.
- female relative (mother, sister, daughter) who had a heart attack or stroke before 60.
- Cholesterol as the proportion of HDL or “good” cholesterol versus your total. Your HDL should make up more than 25% of your total.
Multiple risk factors don’t add up, they multiply. That’s why it is better to look at ALL the risk variables, not just the cholesterol.
What do you think contributes the most to risk?
Age – that’s why it is important to address the risk factors we can control.
Let us be your greatest health champion
We specialise in keeping busy people healthy. Our comprehensive annual health checks and monitoring are designed to keep you in exceptional health and minimise your chances of chronic illness. Many life threatening conditions are found “accidentally” – often during a routine health check.
