We plan for illness by buying insurance. We plan for our family’s future by creating wills and trusts. An additional, lesser known concept is planning your health.
Planning your health means taking measures to stay one step in front of disease, not just preparing for how you would treat it once you fall ill. It means taking preventive measures that can protect you and your family from the financial and emotional damage of an unexpected, catastrophic health event by completely avoiding the illness in the first place. It means treating your health as an asset.
Stroke
Let’s use stroke as an example. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. One occurs every 45 seconds. Even more concerning, stroke is the number one cause of adult disability and the leading cause of admittance to nursing homes. The average cost for nursing home care is around $200 a day, and the psychological burden on family members is extreme.
“I’m not scared of dying,” says Fay L. Keenan of Metairie, LA. “I am terrified of becoming disabled. Of being a burden to my family. Of sitting in a nursing home while the savings that I worked so hard for dwindles away in order to take care of what is left of me. That is something I just can’t face. I want to do everything I can to protect my health.”
3 Steps To Plan for Your Health
Step 1: See your doctor
The first step toward planning your health is understanding where you are now, which means a complete physical. It is important to know basic numbers such as weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
Step 2: Exercise
Exercise is the number one method of maintaining cardiovascular fitness, supporting strong bones and relieving stress. It is disease prevention and health protection for your whole body.
Step 3: Access appropriate screenings
Certain health screenings are important as we age. Mammography for women age 40 and over. Prostate screening for men over 50. And now, experts are recommending vascular screening for individuals over age 50 or in their 40’s if they have risk factors such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, diabetes or a family history of stroke or cardiovascular disease.
Why vascular screenings
Vascular screenings are fast, painless and low cost. They test for blocked carotid arteries, abdominal aortic aneurysms, and hardening of the arteries in the legs.
These screenings are important because of the silent and often debilitating nature of the conditions. The majority of strokes are caused by plaque build up in the carotid arteries and hardening of the arteries. The abdominal aorta is the largest artery in the body, and a weakness in the walls of the artery can cause a ballooning called an aneurysm, which can rupture. Peripheral arterial disease or PAD is also known as “hardening of the arteries.” Sufferers have a 4-6 fold increased risk of having a heart attack. Risk is evaluated through a measurement called the “Ankle-Brachial Index,” which is obtained by reading the systolic pressure in the ankle and arm.
Vascular screenings for conditions like hardening of the arteries, are available through vascular labs across the country or through Life Line Screening, the nation’s premier provider of preventive screenings.
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