Is it enough to increase the health checkup of employees in case of sudden cardiovascular death among young adults? What health checks should be done at the age of 30, 40 and 50?
Are cardiovascular risks increasing among young adults? Is it difficult to see during a general health check?
The sudden drop in temperature caused by the cold snap not only increases the risk of cardiovascular events in the elderly, but also causes sudden deaths among young and middle-aged people in recent years. Dr. Luo Hongyuan, director of Beitou Health Management Hospital, said in an interview with “healthorn” that young adults tend to consider themselves healthy, which leads to neglect of cardiovascular health. In addition, dietary habits high in fat and salt, as well as lifestyles such as smoking, inactivity, and being overweight will all increase cardiovascular risks.
Do young and middle-aged people tend to ignore the importance of health check-ups? Dr. Luo Hongyuan said that general health examinations mainly focus on drawing blood. The more abnormal the blood sugar, blood lipids, and blood pressure values found, the higher the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, it is sometimes not possible to see whether there are cardiovascular diseases by just checking blood values. This can only be discovered through examination tools specific to the cardiovascular system.
What are the cardiovascular health screening tools? Which groups should be checked early?
Dr. Luo Hongyuan explained that in order to screen whether the coronary arteries are healthy, you can currently use the “Computed Tomography Calcification Index Examination”, which scans the calcium score of the coronary artery wall. The higher the score, the more severe the arteriosclerosis and the higher the risk of vascular stenosis. , is a relatively good screening tool.
“The most accurate tool to truly diagnose coronary artery stenosis is a ‘cardiac catheter’, but this is an invasive examination and is not suitable for ordinary people!” Dr. Luo Hongyuan pointed out that thanks to technological advancements, intravenous injection of contrast agent Coronary artery computed tomography can combine cardiovascular examination images into a three-dimensional form to provide physician evaluation, and the accuracy is closer to that of invasive cardiac catheterization.
In addition, exercise ECG is also useful for understanding heart health. Dr. Luo Hongyuan explained that exercise ECG tests whether there is hypoxia in the myocardium during exercise. Nowadays, there are also nuclear medicine methods that simulate the performance of the heart during exercise with the help of drugs to detect whether there is hypoxia in the myocardium.
Dr. Luo Hongyuan said that people with a family history of coronary heart disease, men over 45 years old, women over 55 years old or after menopause, and those with multiple risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, smoking, etc. Further heart health screening should be considered early.
Are employee health checks enough? Pay attention to early cancer and congenital diseases
Are the employee health examinations provided by Taiwanese companies insufficient in preventing health risks for young and middle-aged people? Dr. Luo Hongyuan explained that general employee health examinations mainly focus on blood, urine, stool, chest X-ray, and electrocardiogram examinations, which can cover general systemic disease problems. However, problems such as early-stage cancer and congenital diseases are difficult to detect during employee health examinations.
Dr. Luo Hongyuan pointed out that taking colorectal cancer, which ranks among the top ten cancers, as an example, symptoms usually do not appear until the tumor grows to a certain size. It is difficult to detect early colorectal cancer through basic examinations. Colonoscopy screening is required to detect early cancer or cancer in the large intestine. anterior lesions. In addition, general lung X-ray examination has a low detection rate for smaller early-stage lung cancer. If low-dose computed tomography of the lungs is not performed, such early-stage lung cancer can easily be ignored.
“The other is congenital disease. Some young people suddenly faint and have cerebral hemorrhage. This is often a vascular abnormality caused by congenital cerebral aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation!”
Dr. Luo Hongyuan pointed out that this type of congenital disease can only be diagnosed through brain MRI, computed tomography, etc. Although the incidence rate is not high, it is not easy to detect through general health examinations. It is recommended to decide whether to accept the disease based on personal risks and economic considerations. Initial inspection.
Three types of people should check in advance and regularly! What kind of health check-ups should be done between the ages of 30 and 50?
In addition to the free health check-ups for adults subsidized by the Taiwan Health Promotion Administration, who should consider early regular health check-ups? Dr. Luo Hongyuan reminded that first, if you have a family history of cancer with a high incidence rate, such as breast cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer, you should pay attention to cancer screening as early as possible. Second, chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C carriers may cause cirrhosis and liver cancer. It is best to follow up and receive treatment regularly from a young age. Third, those with cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and those who smoke more should take early cardiovascular examinations and prevention.
What health check-up items should be considered at different ages in adulthood? Luo Hongyuan suggested that for congenital cerebral aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, etc., a one-time examination can be done to determine the risk regardless of age. If you are 30 years old, you can establish a basic health history. In addition to general blood, urine, and X-ray health examinations, you can add ultrasound examinations and regular follow-up observations to achieve health management purposes.
After the age of 40, the incidence of cancer increases. At this stage, attention should be paid to cancer prevention. The earlier the cancer is detected, the better the treatment effect, including colonoscopy, lung cancer examination, female breast cancer examination, etc. For people over 50 years old, in addition to the risk of cancer, the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases begins to increase. Early detection and prevention can be achieved through brain MRI, coronary artery calcium index, coronary artery computed tomography and other examinations.
Dr. Luo Hongyuan reminded that everyone’s physical condition is different, and the health examination items they need to undergo are also different. It is recommended that the public should seek the advice of professional doctors in advance to achieve personal health management purposes, which is the most correct concept of health.
Further reading:
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