While regular visits to your doctor for routine check-ups are essential, private health checks offer a more comprehensive and tailored approach to monitoring your health. Ageing better and having a longer health span can only be achieved through ensuring that no serious illness is left undetected. These checks can provide early detection of potential health issues, giving you peace of mind and, in some cases, life-saving early interventions. It is important to understand what is included in private health checks as it could mean the difference between identifying a life-threatening disease and being unable to detect it.
No single scanner can assess for all diseases, as such, a combination of the most advanced MRI, CT and Ultrasound technology, alongside comprehensive blood tests such as tumour markers are used for full-body health checks. This is the only way you can get a definitive view of your health.
In this article, we will be looking at different types of private health checks, to help you identify which is the best one for you.
Heart Health Check
480 people are dying from a heart of circulatory disease every day in the UK. 130 of them are younger than 75 years old. Heart health is important throughout your life, as it is estimated more than half of the UK population will get a heart or circulatory condition during their lifetime.
A heart health check focuses specifically on assessing the health of your cardiovascular system. This check is ideal for those who have a family history of heart disease, have cardiac risk factors, or anyone concerned about the health of their heart.
The Healthy Heart Assessment at Echelon Health provides an unparalleled insight of your heart arteries and risk of coronary heart disease. A CT Heart scan (Calcium Score) is used to examine your heart arteries for any calcium deposition, the earliest sign of atheromatous disease. A calcium score test facilitates the visualisation of plaque build-up, a cholesterol deposit that can narrow your arteries and lower your heart rate. A higher calcium score can mean higher risk of sudden death.
Who is it for?
- Individuals over 40: The risk of heart disease increases with age, making it important for older adults to monitor their heart health.
- People with a family history of heart disease: Genetics play a significant role in heart health, so those with a family history of heart issues should consider heart health checks.
- Those who have cardiac risk factors: Individuals who have risk factors like high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, are overweight or are smokers should assess their heart health to prevent complications
Our Healthy Heart Assessment Includes:
- Medical Questionnaire & Pre-Assessment
- Blood Tests
- ECG
- CT Heart
- CT Coronary Angiogram
- Final Consultation
Cancer Screening
In the UK, 48% of lung cancer cases occur in females, while 52% occur in males. The gold standard of screening for lung cancer is a low dose CT scan.
Cancer screenings are tests designed to detect specific types of cancer before symptoms appear. Cancers such as leukaemia/lymphoma, breast, prostate, colon, pancreatic, liver, thyroid, kidney and adrenal glands, as well as ovaries/testes can be screened. The screening depends on the cancer, such as mammograms for breast cancer or colonoscopies for colorectal cancer.
Who is it for?
- Men and women over 50: The risk of developing certain cancers, such as colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer, increases with age, making regular screenings important. The NHS Breast Screening Programme offers screenings every three years to all women aged 50 to 70.
- Individuals with a family history of cancer: A family history of specific cancers may require earlier or more frequent screenings.
- Smokers: Those who smoke or have smoked in the past should consider regular lung cancer screenings.
Our Core Cancer Assessment Includes:
- Medical Questionnaire & Pre-Assessment
- Blood Tests
- CT Pelvis
- CT Abdomen
- CT Virtual Colonoscopy
- MRI Prostate (Men)
- Ultrasound Thyroid
- Ultrasound Testes/Ovaries
- Digital Mammogram (Women)
- Final Consultation
Women’s Health Check – Our Cullinan Assessment
Coronary heart disease, which is the primary cause of heart attacks, kills more than twice as many women in the UK annually as breast cancer, and in 2019, it was the leading cause of death among women worldwide. Despite this, it is often regarded as a men’s disease. Women may be less likely to seek medical attention and receive treatment, even when warning signs are present. Early detection and treatment is vital to limit the extent of heart damage.
A women’s health check is tailored to address health concerns specific to women. This can include a range of tests from reproductive health to bone density scans for osteoporosis, and hormone profile assessments.
Health checks for women over 40 years old can detect signs of early disease associated with this stage of life, along with those diseases that are the leading causes of premature death in women – coronary heart disease, lung disease, breast cancer and ovarian cancer, and osteoporosis. Our Cullinan Assessment is dedicated to women who are 40 years old and above.
Who is it for?
There are health checks recommended to women in different stages of their lives
- Women over 25: Regular cervical screenings, which used to be called smear tests, are recommended for women aged between 25 and 64.
- Women over 50: Postmenopausal women should consider bone density tests to monitor for osteoporosis.
- Women planning a pregnancy: Pre-pregnancy health checks can assess overall health and identify any issues that could affect pregnancy.
- Women with menstrual irregularities or menopausal symptoms: Hormone assessments can help manage symptoms and underlying conditions.
Our Cullinan Assessment Includes:
- Comprehensive bloods + Hormonal profile + cancer markers
- Digital mammogram
- Transvaginal Ultrasound
- ECG
- CT Coronary angiogram
- CT Chest
- CT Bone Density
- Full Body Mole Check
Full-Body Health Check – Our Platinum Assessment
Combining all the health checks mentioned above ensures an individual can get a holistic view of their health.
A full-body health check is a comprehensive examination that assesses your overall health. This type of check-up generally involves a variety of tests and screenings, including blood tests, imaging procedures such as ultrasounds or MRI scans and physical examinations.
Our Platinum Assessment is an extensive and fully comprehensive health assessment which utilises only the most advanced and cutting-edge scanning technology, combined with the talent of our renowned radiologists and doctors.
Our Platinum Assessment (one of the most comprehensive in the world) can detect up to 92% of the causes of preventable deaths in men and up to 95% in women.
Who is it for?
- Adults over 40: As we age, the risk of developing chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer increases.
- People with a family history of chronic illness: If you have a family history of conditions like heart disease, cancer, or diabetes, full-body checks can help monitor your health closely.
- Establishing a baseline for your health: this allows you to make targeted lifestyle changes to optimise your health and also highlights any potential life threatening disease that requires immediate attention.
Our Platinum Assessment Includes:
- Medical Questionnaire & Pre-Assessment
- Blood Tests
- ECG
- CT Aorta
- CT Heart
- CT Coronary Angiogram
- CT Chest
- CT Abdomen and Pelvis
- CT Virtual Colonoscopy
- CT Bone Density
- MRI Brain
- MRI Cerebral Artery Angiogram
- MRI Carotid Artery Angiogram
- MRI Prostate
- Ultrasound Thyroid
- Ultrasound Testes / Ovaries
- 3D Digital Mammography
- Full Body Mole Screen
- Final Consultation
Benefits of Private Health Checks
- Help to determine whether you’re at risk of or have developed a disease you might not have been aware of.
- Preventive screenings can enhance your chances of survival, improve management and minimize the risk of complications.
- Age significantly increases the risk of various illnesses. Early detection provides an opportunity to safeguard your health and offer your body the best protection against these diseases.
- If you have a family history of conditions like breast cancer, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease, health assessments can play a crucial role in prevention and facilitate timely treatments.
For a confidential conversation with our Head of Private Clients contact us here
Putting your health first is easy with a private health assessment. Our assessments provide you with dedicated, proactive care, from checking your general health and wellbeing to ruling out or detecting different conditions and diseases early.
Sources:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cervical-screening/
https://www.echelon.health/our-assessments/health-assessment-packages/
https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/our-research/heart-statistics
