Getting a Physical May Save Your Life

(HealthScout) -- Do yourself a favor and make a pledge you'll never live to regret: To get a physical exam on a regular basis.

That goes for people in their 40s, 30s -- even 20s.

People who undergo routine medical exams, including when they're relatively young, are more likely to discover and treat conditions that otherwise might haunt them later, medical experts say.

"Every young person thinks he's going to live forever," says Dr. Daniel Monahan, an internist with a practice in Price, Utah. "The youth of America has a total misunderstanding of the long-term consequences of neglecting health problems."

Many of his older patients, Monahan says, suffer from heart conditions that could have been avoided or alleviated had they been diagnosed and treated at a younger age.

In addition, experts say, a healthful diet and regular exercise can ward off some of the illnesses that claim hundreds of thousands of American lives each year.

Your choice, your behavior

"Your health, especially in the long-term, is determined by your own choices and your own behavior," says Dr. Jerry Rogers, a board member of the American Academy of Family Physicians. "I think routine exams are an important part of that."

"Routine exams are definitely recommended because there are certain things people can't know about without checking into them," adds Rogers, who practices family medicine in Moorhead, Minn.

Some conditions, he says, don't have noticeable symptoms until they get to an advanced stage, such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels and elevated blood sugar. But if discovered early through blood tests and other procedures done during routine physicals, these conditions often can be treated with lifestyle changes like increased exercise, low-fat diets and, in some cases, medication.

Left untreated, however, they can lead to life-threatening illnesses, including heart disease and diabetes, the first- and seventh-leading causes of death in the United States.

Dr. Ralph Rayner, a cardiologist with a practice in Merritt Island, Fla., says it's crucial to get a comprehensive cholesterol profile done by the time you're in your late 20s or early 30s. High cholesterol can lead to premature heart disease, called the "silent killer" because it has no visible symptoms.

"We're trying to identify people who are high-risk, to pick up the symptoms early," Rayner says. "We're trying to do something about it before they have that first heart attack because they may not get another chance."

Just what should be checked and when? The academy of family physicians recommends:

• By 16, children should be vaccinated against a full range of diseases, including diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella and hepatitis B.

• Everyone over 21 should get their blood pressure checked periodically, with the frequency varying by age and health.

• Between the ages of 20 and 39, women should have a breast examination by a health professional every three years. After age 40, the exams should become annual.

• All women who have been sexually active should have a PAP test at least every three years.

• Men 50 and older should be checked annually for prostate cancer, including a digital rectal exam and a blood test for prostate-specific antigen, or PSA. Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in men, exceeded only by lung cancer.

However, few Americans -- especially those younger than 50 -- see a doctor unless they're sick or have a family history that puts them at high risk for certain illnesses, experts say. Because of this, many people don't realize they have a disease until it's too late, and even those who do discover a problem often don't make recommended lifestyle changes.

One of every four Americans who dies each year dies of cancer, making it the second-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. This year, some 552,200 Americans -- more than 1,500 people a day -- are expected to die of cancer.

Breast cancer, the second-leading cause of death for American women, will claim approximately 41,000 lives this year. However, if detected early, before it has spread beyond the breast, the disease can be cured about 90 percent of the time, according to the family physicians association.

The cancer society, in fact, would like women to be screened for breast cancer even more frequently -- every two years before age 40 rather than every three.

And the group -- which has made the slogan, "Early detection is the key to successful treatment and survival," part of its mantra -- wants everyone to get on some type of regular cancer screening program. The cancer society recommends a cancer-related checkup, including skin exam, every three to four years from ages 2 to 40 and every year after age 40.

All of which may be easier for women than men.

"Women are more likely to get exams and are more aware of getting regular tests like mammograms and pap smears," Rogers says. "There are many diseases, including malignancies, that if discovered early on are treatable."

People simply need to be made aware of the urgency of annual checkups, experts agree.

"One thing we've proven in fighting cholesterol and heart disease is that these conditions are so much less prevalent than they used to be," says Monahan, the Utah physician. "Education has made the difference between having a heart attack and not having a heart attack, or having one heart attack and not having the second one."

For a variety of tips on living well and preventing diseases, visit the American Academy of Family Physicians online.

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