In the past, if you wanted to know more about your cardiovascular or bone health, it meant extensive testing at a hospital, sometimes lasting for days. These days, however, health professionals can conduct a wellness assessment with technology that far surpasses what was available in the past and can do the testing in a short time with minimal inconvenience.
What issues can these mobile screenings detect?
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis causes bones to weaken over time. When left untreated, it can lead to fractures, most commonly in the hip, wrist, and spine. One in two women and one in four men will suffer an osteoporosis related break at some point. While some risk factors are controllable, such as not smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, getting adequate exercise, and eating a healthy diet, others, such as age, gender, family history, and body structure are not. Therefore, it is important to get screened. At the screening, the professional will use quantitative ultrasound to test the density of the bone in your heel, which is similar to the hip. This test is an excellent indicator of fracture risk and skeletal strength.
Stroke Risk
The third leading cause of death, stroke kills more than 160,000 American annually, and debilitates many more. Plaque buildup in the arteries, which can begin in childhood, can lead to a stroke when a piece of the plaque breaks off and travels through the bloodstream to smaller arteries in the brain. Unfortunately, more than half of the time, there are no prior symptoms. Luckily, though, with preventive screenings, up to 80 percent of strokes can be prevented. If you smoke, have high blood pressure or blood cholesterol, are obese, are diabetic, or have a family history of stroke, you are at a higher risk for having a stroke. The screener will use ultrasound to measure blood flow velocity and plaque buildup, identifying those at risk for a stroke.
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA)
A large number of aortic aneurysms occur in the belly, when the aortic wall weakens and bulges. In almost 90 percent of all cases, an AAA causes death within minutes of arriving at the hospital. Untreated abdominal aortic aneurysms may have deadly results, and again, there are usually no symptoms beforehand. However, once they rupture, they cause excruciating pain. At the screening for this condition, Color Doppler Ultrasound will be used to check for any bulges in the aortic wall. If detected early enough, the treatment for the condition has a high rate of success, but if left untreated, may have lethal consequences.
Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
As arteries in the legs harden and narrow due to plaque buildup, a condition called peripheral arterial disease occurs. PAD can cause great pain when walking, and can lead to gangrene or amputation if left untreated. People with PAD are also more likely to have blocked arteries in other areas of the body, which makes them four to six times more likely to die from stroke or heart attack. To screen for PAD, an Ankle Brachial Index is used, which compares the blood pressure in your arms to that of your legs. In a healthy person, the blood pressure in the ankle is slightly higher than in the arm, so a lower reading can be a sign of PAD.
As you can see, many serious health problems can be detected and treated with advanced, preventive screening. Luckily, many companies today offer mobile health screenings in communities all over the United States, making screening quick and convenient.
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