Six Important Health Tests For Women

By Angela Marshall, MD

Comprehensive Women’s Health

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Six Important Health Tests For Women

It is important that women take an active role in managing their health. In addition to doing moderate exercise every day, maintaining a healthy diet, and managing your stress, it's important to see your healthcare provider regularly and stay current on needed health screenings. Early screening and detection is one of the best ways to curtail potential health problems. Here are six vital screenings

Blood pressure check. High blood pressure (hypertension) is one of the leading causes of stroke, heart disease and kidney disease. Treatment for hypertension can be achieved through lifestyle changes. In some cases, medication may need to be prescribed in order to control blood pressure.

Clinical breast exams and mammograms. A clinical breast exam is a physical exam done by your healthcare provider, who will examine your breasts and underarms for any changes or abnormalities. Mammograms are X-rays that focus on the breast tissue. Early detection of breast cancer improves the chances that breast cancer can be diagnosed at an early stage and treated successfully.

Pelvic exams and pap smears. During a pelvic exam, the uterus, vagina, ovaries, and fallopian tubes are felt to find any abnormality in their shape or size. A pap smear is added to the pelvic exam as a means to collect cells from the cervix. The cells are examined to detect cancer as well as any cell abnormalities that cause cancer. It can also help to detect the presence of infections such as human papilloma virus, which can greatly increase a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer.

Cholesterol check. Like high blood pressure screenings, checking your cholesterol levels is equally important because having a low cholesterol level can decrease your risk ofheart disease. A simple blood test can determine your total cholesterol levels. If your cholesterol is too high, you can work with your healthcare provider to explore various options to get it to a normal level.

Blood glucose test. Glucose testing is a simple blood test that is typically used to rule out pre-diabetes and diabetes. Uncontrolled diabetes can cause serious medical complications, eventually leading to death, usually as a result of cardiovascular disease or stroke.

Bone density check. Approximately 10 million individuals in the U.S. already have osteoporosis, and 34 million more have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk. A painless, non-invasive bone density screening can quickly measure the health of your bones.

While there are general recommendations for when and how often women should have various screenings, it is important for every woman in partnership with her healthcare provider to develop an individualized screening schedule.