When was the last time you had to find a doctor for yourself, or someone else in your family? Having a physician for every member of your family is imperative to your family’s health and wellness. Making and keeping regular appointments with a physician can help you monitor basic health indicators and possibly prevent major health issues.
One of the best reasons to find a doctor and schedule regular visits is to monitor annual health indicators like weight, height, blood pressure and cholesterol. In the years 2012 and 2013, the leading causes of death remained the same:
- heart disease
- cancer
- chronic lower respiratory diseases
- unintentional injuries
- stroke
- Alzheimer’s disease
- influenza
- pneumonia
- kidney disease
- suicide
Many of these diseases and conditions can be prevented and monitored if patients find a doctor they trust and visit for regular appointments. Realizing the importance of regular check ups should be a priority for anyone trying to live a healthy life.
Take weight loss for example. A family doctor can help patients monitor their weight and suggest guidelines for a healthier lifestyle. Since one in every three Americans is obese, weight loss education is an important health issue for many.
Finding a physician is also important so that patients can be preventative in avoiding heart disease. Every year about 600,000 people die of heart disease in America. With one in every four deaths being related to heart disease, it is the leading cause of death for both males and females. More specifically, coronary heart disease is the most common and it kills nearly 380,000 people a year. Every minute two people in the United States die from some kind of cardiovascular disease. In fact, more people die of heart disease than of AIDS and all kinds of cancers combined. In total, an estimated 80 million Americans have some type of heart disease. Finding a doctor to help you monitor your heart and and other heart disease factors is both crucial and preventative.
Preventative medicine and office visits not only help you monitor health conditions like weight and heart disease indicators, it also helps save money. If doctors and clinics help patients monitor their basic health numbers on a regular basis, crisis health issues are less likely. For example, if a doctor discovers that you have high blood pressure and high cholesterol, you can begin taking medicines to help control those conditions. Controlling high blood pressure and high cholesterol can keep many patients from later developing heart disease and requiring expensive emergency surgeries.
If you are serious about your health, and the health of your family, schedule an appointment with a doctor and begin the discussion about the importance of routine check ups. You will be glad you did.