Learn the Facts
When you get a preventive medical test, you're not just doing it for yourself. You're doing it for your family and loved ones:
-- Men are 24 percent less likely than women to have visited a doctor within the past year and are 22 percent more likely to have neglected their cholesterol tests.
-- Men are 28 percent more likely than women to be hospitalized for congestive heart failure.
-- Men are 32 percent more likely than women to be hospitalized for long-term complications of diabetes and are more than twice as likely than women to have a leg or foot amputated due to complications related to diabetes.
-- Men are 24 percent more likely than women to be hospitalized for pneumonia that could have been prevented by getting an immunization.
The single most important way you can take care of yourself and those you love is to actively take part in your health care. Educate yourself on health care and participate in decisions with your doctor. This site will help you get started.
2. 1
Overview
**Learn the Facts**
When you get a preventive medical test, you're not
just doing it for yourself. You're doing it for your
family and loved ones:
3. 2
Overview
**Learn the Facts**
-- Men are 24 percent less likely than women to
have visited a doctor within the past year and are
22 percent more likely to have neglected their
cholesterol tests.
-- Men are 28 percent more likely than women to
be hospitalized for congestive heart failure.
4. 3
Overview
**Learn the Facts**
-- Men are 32 percent more likely than women to
be hospitalized for long-term complications of
diabetes and are more than twice as likely than
women to have a leg or foot amputated due to
complications related to diabetes.
-- Men are 24 percent more likely than women to
be hospitalized for pneumonia that could have
been prevented by getting an immunization.
5. 4
Overview
**Learn the Facts**
The single most important way you can take care
of yourself and those you love is to actively take
part in your health care. Educate yourself on
health care and participate in decisions with your
doctor. This site will help you get started.
6. 5
Preventive Medical Tests
Screening tests can find diseases early, when
they’re easiest to treat. Talk to your doctor about
which preventive medical tests you need to stay
healthy.
7. 6
Preventive Medical Tests
**Body Mass Index**
Your body mass index, or BMI, is a measure of your
body fat based on your height and weight. It is
used to screen for obesity. You can find your BMI
by visiting http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi.
8. 7
Preventive Medical Tests
**Cholesterol**
Once you turn 35 (or once you turn 20 if you have
risk factors like diabetes, history of heart disease,
tobacco use, high blood pressure, or BMI of 30 or
over), have your cholesterol checked regularly.
High blood cholesterol is one of the major risk
factors for heart disease.
9. 8
Preventive Medical Tests
**Blood Pressure**
Have your blood pressure checked every 2 years.
High blood pressure increases your chance of
getting heart or kidney disease and for having a
stroke. If you have high blood pressure, you may
need medication to control it.
10. 9
Preventive Medical Tests
**Cardiovascular Disease**
Beginning at age 45 and through age 79, ask your
doctor if you should take aspirin every day to help
lower your risk of a heart attack. How much aspirin
you should take depends on your age, your health,
and your lifestyle.
11. 10
Preventive Medical Tests
**Colorectal Cancer**
Beginning at age 50 and through age 75, get tested
for colorectal cancer. You and your doctor can
decide which test is best. How often you'll have
the test depends on which test you choose. If you
have a family history of colorectal cancer, you may
need to be tested before you turn 50.
13. 12
Preventive Medical Tests
**Sexually Transmitted Diseases**
Talk to your doctor to see whether you should be
tested for gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, or other
sexually transmitted diseases.
14. 13
Preventive Medical Tests
**HIV**
Your doctor may recommend screening for HIV if
you:
-- Have sex with men.
-- Had unprotected sex with multiple partners.
-- Have used injected drugs.
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Preventive Medical Tests
**HIV**
-- Pay for sex or have sex partners who do.
-- Have past or current sex partners who are
infected with HIV.
-- Are being treated for sexually transmitted
diseases.
-- Had a blood transfusion between 1978 and
1985.
16. 15
Preventive Medical Tests
**Depression**
If you have felt "down" or hopeless during the past
2 weeks or you have had little interest in doing
things you usually enjoy, talk to your doctor about
depression. Depression is a treatable illness.
17. 16
Preventive Medical Tests
**Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm **
If you are between the ages of 65 and 75 and have
smoked 100 or more cigarettes in your lifetime, ask
your doctor to screen you for an abdominal aortic
aneurysm. This is an abnormally large or swollen
blood vessel in your stomach that can burst
without warning.
18. 17
Preventive Medical Tests
**Diabetes **
If your blood pressure is higher than 135/80, ask
your doctor to test you for diabetes. Diabetes, or
high blood sugar, can cause problems with your
heart, eyes, feet, kidneys, nerves, and other body
parts.
19. 18
Preventive Medical Tests
**Tobacco Use **
If you smoke or use tobacco, talk to your doctor
about quitting. For tips on how to quit, go to or
call the National Quitline at 1-800-QUITNOW
21. 20
Stay Healthy
** Be physically active. **
Walking briskly, mowing the lawn, playing team
sports, and biking are just a few examples of how
you can get moving. If you are not already
physically active, start small and work up to 30
minutes a day of moderate physical activity for
most days of the week.
22. 21
Stay Healthy
** Eat a healthy diet. **
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or
low-fat dairy products are healthy choices. Lean
meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts are
good, too. Try to eat foods that are low in
saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt, and
added sugars.
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Stay Healthy
** Stay at a healthy weight**
Try to balance the calories you take in with the
calories you burn with your physical activities. As
you age, eat fewer calories and increase your
physical activity. This will prevent gradual weight
gain over time.
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Stay Healthy
** Drink alcohol in moderation or not at all**
Current dietary guidelines for Americans
recommend that if you choose to drink alcoholic
beverages, you do not exceed 2 drinks per day for
men (1 drink per day for women). Some people
should not drink alcoholic beverages at all,
including
25. 24
Stay Healthy
** Drink alcohol in moderation or not at all**
Individuals who cannot restrict their drinking to
moderate levels.
Individuals who plan to drive, operate machinery,
or take part in other activities that requires
attention, skill, or coordination.
Individuals taking prescription or over-the-counter
medications that can interact with alcohol.
26. 25
Stay Healthy
** Drink alcohol in moderation or not at all**
Individuals with specific medical conditions.
Persons recovering from alcoholism.
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Stay Healthy
** Take aspirin to avoid a heart attack.**
If you are at risk for a heart attack (you’re over 45,
smoke, or have diabetes, high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, or a family history of heart disease),
check with your doctor and find out if taking
aspirin is the right choice for you.
29. 28
Vaccines
You never outgrow the need for vaccines. The
specific immunizations you need as an adult are
determined by factors such as your age, lifestyle,
high-risk conditions, type and locations of travel,
and previous immunizations. Throughout your
adult life, you need immunizations to get and
maintain protection against: flu, tetanus,
diphtheria, pertussis, shingles, pneumococcal, HPV,
etc.
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Vaccines
Encourage other adults in your family to check
with their doctors for immunizations they may
need to help protect against vaccine-preventable
diseases. Childhood vaccinations will not protect
you for the rest of your life.
See full vaccination schedule here
