SIMPLE TESTS WE ABSOLUTELY NEED...

Whether we like it or not, we get sick. If we are concerned with our health, we should take simple tests or undergo screening to monitor our body's status. Medical tests can save our lives. Catching high blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol early can prevent diseases like heart attack and stroke. Detecting cancer earlier means a better likelihood of a cure.

Here are simple tests we absolutely need on a regular basis:

Blood Pressure

Objective: The force of blood moving through your artery. The higher your blood pressure, the harder your heart has to work to keep the blood moving through your body. High blood pressure can increase your risk for stroke, heart failure, and heart attack.

Procedure: Your doctor or nurse will use a device called sphygmomanometer to measure your blood pressure. A material cuff will go around your arm. It will be inflated, briefly stopping the blood flow to your artery. As the air is released, the person taking your blood pressure will use a stethoscope to listen to the blood beginning to flow again in the artery.

Interpretation of Results: The top number is the systolic blood pressure (the pressure of the blood flow every time your heart squeezes and pushes blood out). The bottom number is the diastolic blood pressure (the pressure in between beats when your heart fills up with blood). A normal reading for an older adult is 120/80 millimeters or mercury (mmHg) or below. High blood pressure is 140/90 mmHg or above.

When to take it: Once or twice every year; more often if your blood pressure is high.

Blood Sugar

Objective: The amount of sugar in your blood. High blood sugar could indicate that you have pre-diabetes or diabetes.

Procedure: For a fasting blood sugar test, you don’t eat or drink anything but water for eight hours before the test. A blood sample is collected through a needle in your arm.

Interpretation of Results: 70 mg/dL is normal; 100 to 125 mg/dL is pre-diabetes; 126 mg/dL or higher could indicate diabetes.

When to take it: Every one to three years.

Mammogram (Women)

Objective: The presence of abnormal tissue that could indicate breast cancer.

Procedure: You stand in front of an x-ray machine while the technician presses your breast between two plastic plates to make your breast flat, and then takes x-rays.

Interpretation of Results: If the radiologist sees an abnormality in your breast, you may need to have another mammogram, an ultrasound, or a biopsy to make a diagnosis.

When to take it: Every one to two years.