When it comes to your health, regular check-ups are extremely important. Not only can they show you the possible changes you may need to make to your current lifestyle, but they can also help you to catch certain diseases and conditions early.
Early detection and prevention are key when managing your health, and having a health assessment can help you to do just that. Some health conditions — such as prostate cancer — don’t display any symptoms at first, so simply ‘feeling’ healthy, might not be enough.
Even if you don’t think a health assessment is necessary for you because you feel fine, you may be surprised to learn that there are still improvements that you could make to support your health. Health assessments are a preventative measure that can help you do your best to keep your body healthy for as long as possible.
There are five key areas that you’ll want to focus on when having a health assessment:
- Your brain
- Your heart
- Your blood
- Your bones
- Cancer screening
Discover more about what kinds of tests can be done during a health assessment to check each of these five vital areas of your body.
Brain health checks
In 2020, 27,681 people lost their lives to cerebrovascular disease, and the mortality rates of malignant other central nervous system and intracranial tumours have increased by 53%. The earlier you catch conditions affecting the brain, the better.
MRI brain scan
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scan provides a detailed image of your brain which shows any potential tumours or other abnormalities. The scan can include your inner ears and sinuses too.
The amount of detail that a brain MRI scan can achieve can also show any issues with the blood flow to the brain or any previous asymptomatic strokes. Having an MRI brain scan can help doctors analyse the health of your brain and diagnose any underlying issues.
MRI cerebral artery angiogram
An MRI cerebral artery angiogram provides a look at the arteries and veins inside the brain to allow for the assessment of malformations and aneurysms. If the scan does show any of these things, it could indicate an increased risk of stroke or brain haemorrhage. A preventive health assessment will catch this early.
MRI carotid artery angiogram
An MRI carotid artery angiogram is used to determine whether the arteries that supply blood to the brain are narrowing. Diagnosing this abnormality early enough can mean that medical procedures can be carried out to prevent blockages that otherwise would have led to a stroke.
Heart health checks
In 2020, the number of deaths caused by ischaemic heart disease was 55,807 — demonstrating just how rife heart conditions are and why early testing is essential. A lot of heart problems can be prevented, but only if they’re diagnosed or spotted during health checks.
Heart CT scan
A heart computed tomography (CT) scan will examine the overall health of your arteries. It will also check for any calcium deposits that could cause issues such as heart attacks.
CT coronary angiogram
A CT coronary angiogram involves a dye being injected into the vein in the arm so that the inside of the heart arteries can be seen.
This scan can determine the exact location and severity of plaque in the arteries, and is effective at showing soft plaque which has yet to calcify. Soft plaque has the highest risk of rupturing, which is the most common cause of death in people who are typically deemed healthy.
ECG
An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a test that records the rhythm, rate and electrical activity of your heart. This data can then be used to check for rhythm abnormalities and any other potential heart issues.
Cancer health checks
In 2021 in England, 134,802 people died from cancer — with lung, bowel, breast and prostate cancers accounting for almost half of all cancer deaths. However, most cancers are preventable if they’re caught early, and the best way to do that is through regular health screening.
Breast cancer
To check for breast cancer, a mammogram is used. A mammogram is a type of scan that uses low-dose x-rays to examine the breasts. During the scan, a mammographer will take at least two x–rays of the breasts to check for any abnormalities that could be indicative of breast cancer.
These days, the images of a mammogram can be stored digitally, allowing for a more detailed analysis.
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers, estimated to affect 1 in every 8 men.
Screening for prostate cancer with an MRI prostate scan and a blood test can make all the difference to your prognosis, detecting the cancer in its early stages.
Colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer affects the bowel or colon and is another one of the most common cancers in the UK.
To screen for colon cancer, a CT colonoscopy scan or a virtual colonoscopy will be performed. This involves a camera being inserted into the body to gather detailed images of the colon and bowels.
Indications for cancer like colonic polyps can then be assessed and a treatment plan put in place if necessary.
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK. A CT check scan will be performed as it has the best means of detecting signs of lung cancer. In fact, this scan can show abnormalities that are only 2mm big. A CT chest scan can also detect any other problems like infection or damage to the lungs caused by exposure to asbestos or bronchiectasis.
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer has a death toll of nearly 10,000 people a year, so screening for it is extremely important. When caught at a late stage, pancreatic cancer is one of the least treatable, meaning prevention and early diagnosis are vital.
A CT abdomen scan will be performed to check the pancreas and assess for any abnormalities that could increase your risk of developing cancer in the future.
Blood test health checks
Your blood can tell you a lot about your health, so having your blood tested can help diagnose many underlying conditions.
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is a way of measuring the strength with which your blood is pushing against your arteries when it’s moving through the body. High blood pressure puts strain on the arteries and organs, which can increase your risk of strokes and heart attacks.
Having your blood pressure checked regularly can help keep this risk low and treatment can be provided if necessary.
Cholesterol
When you have high cholesterol, you’ll typically not experience any signs or symptoms, making it a very dangerous health issue. High cholesterol can lead to an increased risk of coronary heart disease, so being screened for this issue with a blood test can help you mitigate that risk.
Diabetes
Anybody can develop diabetes, but some people may have a higher risk of doing so for many different reasons such as being overweight and having a poor diet. However, an HbA1c blood test can rule out diabetes or diagnose the condition so that you can manage your health.
Bone health checks
Bone health checks can help to protect your bones and identify any conditions early, giving you the best chance of living life to the fullest.
Bone density scan
A bone density scan is an accurate way of measuring the density of your bones to determine the risk of future fractures and signs of osteoporosis.
EOS upright skeleton scan
An EO upright skeleton scan uses a low-dose CT scan to look at your body while you stand up. This can help to determine any curvature of the spine and any predisposition for spinal disc problems. It can also look for unequal leg length that could cause issues too.
Why should you consider a health assessment?
Maintaining and managing your health is crucial, but it’s not possible without taking the right steps. Preventative health assessments can help you take a step in the right direction — and thanks to Echelon Health’s preventive health screen, you can check all five key areas for underlying conditions.
We can offer a selection of packages to meet your specific requirements, giving you peace of mind that you’re getting a comprehensive, professional health check.
A thorough health assessment is the best solution for late diagnosis. For example, the Platinum Health Assessment package with Echelon Health can detect 92% of diseases that may lead to premature death.
Having a health assessment can also highlight any underlying health conditions — meaning that they can be diagnosed and treated.
Unlike health checks you may have at the GP, our assessments provide in-depth analysis, preventive assessments and concrete data to predict possible conditions in the future.
We also use the correct test and scan for the right modality — making use of state-of-the-art MRI, CT and ultrasound scanners so you can be certain you’re getting accurate results. We can perform a full-body mole screening, ECG and digital mammograms too; each body part is screened by the correct machine to ensure the best results.
All scans and data are reviewed by our expert team of up to seven consultants, who are all specialists in their areas.
We guarantee the most powerful medical technology for your comprehensive health assessments. You can be sure of the accuracy of results and safety of every imaging machine that we utilise.
Health assessments with Echelon Health
No single scanner can perform all the checks that are needed to sufficiently assess the whole body for causes of premature death.
At Echelon Health, our extensive, comprehensive assessment leaves no stone unturned, helping to give you peace of mind.
Our Platinum Assessment combines the talent of our doctors, nurses and radiologists with the most advanced, cutting-edge medical scanning technology to detect tumours as small as 2 mm and assess you for up to 92–94% of the causes of preventable death.
We believe this is the most advanced health assessment available worldwide today.
Within the Platinum Assessment, we include many of the tests mentioned above:
- Medical Questionnaire & Pre-Assessment
- Blood Tests
- ECG
- CT Aorta
- CT Heart
- CT Coronary Angiogram
- CT Chest
- CT Pelvis
- CT Virtual Colonoscopy
- CT Bone Density
- EOS
- CT Upright Skeleton
- MRI Brain
- MRI Cerebral Artery Angiogram
- MRI Carotid Artery Angiogram
- MRI Prostate
- Ultrasound Thyroid
- Ultrasound Testes/ Ovaries
- Digital Mammogram
- Full Body Mole Screen
- Final Consultation
Read testimonies from previous satisfied and healthy clients.
If you would like more details, download our brochure and do not hesitate to contact us.
Sources:
NHLBI (2021). Blood Cholesterol. Available at: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/blood-cholesterol (Accessed 28/10/2021).
Diabetes UK (2021). Getting tested for diabetes. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/diabetes-the-basics/test-for-diabetes (Accessed 28/10/2021).
NHS (2019). Bowel cancer. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bowel-cancer/ (Accessed 28/10/2021).
Pancreatic Cancer UK (2021). Pancreatic cancer statistics. Available at: https://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/what-we-do/media-centre/pancreatic-cancer-statistics/ (Accessed 28/10/2021).
ONS (2021). Total deaths in the UK in 2020 and deaths from heart attacks, heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s and dementia, 2016 to 2020. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/totaldeathsintheukin2020anddeathsfromheartattacksheartdiseasecancerandalzheimersanddementia2016to2020 (Accessed 28/10/2021).
Cancer Research UK (2021). Cancer mortality statistics. Available at: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/mortality#heading-Zero (Accessed 28/10/2021).
Cancer Research UK (2021)a. Brain, other CNS and intracranial tumours mortality statistics. Available at: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/brain-other-cns-and-intracranial-tumours/mortality#heading-Two (Accessed 28/10/2021).
Echelon Health, (2021). The Body Map. Available at: https://www.echelon.health/the-body-map/ (Accessed 28/10/2021).