The 5 Most Important Medical Tests
Find out which medical tests apply to you and how often you should have them.
-
Cholesterol. This should be checked every 3-5 years unless you are at high risk for heart disease.
-
Blood Pressure. This should be checked every 1-2 years. Click here for an easy explanation of what your blood pressure measurements mean.
-
Cancer screening. This including pap smears and mammograms for women, and prostate cancer screening for men. Colon cancer screening tests should be done for those people at risk (which includes everyone over the age of 50).
-
Immunizations. Make sure you and you kids are receiving vaccines according to recommended guidelines. These include immunizations against tetanus, shingles, pneumonia, measles, and other diseases. -
Prevention. You should discuss ways to change your lifestyle to reduce your future risk of disease. The earlier you make changes like quitting smoking, or eating healthier, or starting an exercise regimen, the bigger the benefit.
ImmunizationsOne additional thing: If you have tests run by your doctor and don’t hear about the results, don’t assume “no news is good news.” You should always find out the results of any test you have done, and what those results mean.