Discover The Importance Of An Annual Check-Up

The New Year is coming, and it’s an exciting opportunity to try a fresh beginning in some things. It brings along a feeling of renewal, like the old mistakes can be washed away and a bright new future lies ahead. You want to meet that future in good health, so why not start an important new tradition and get your annual check-up scheduled now? With a clear view of your current health, your doctor will be able to help you make a plan for making it your best health year ever.

Discover The Importance Of An Annual Check-Up

While getting your health is taken care of is squarely on your shoulders, you can’t do it alone. A yearly physical ensures that your physician is able to serve as an effective part of your team. At your check-up, they can order blood tests, do standard health screenings, and identify problems that need further investigation. This is their opportunity to identify health problems before they become serious. By beginning treatment immediately they can limit the impact they have on your quality of life.

Patients with hypertension, diabetes and other chronic conditions especially benefit from these check-ups. The conditions advance can be monitored, and new treatments used to try to limit the impact it will have on your life in the year to come. Other great opportunities that present themselves as part of this check-up include:

• Lowering your cholesterol
• Losing weight
• Managing your blood sugar
• Breaking vices such as smoking

Every year your health will continue to change, presenting new challenges as you get older. Your physician can help you prepare for these as part of the annual check-up. New recommendations will be made, and things to watch for to identify new problems that may be around the corner. You’ll also have an opportunity to:

• Update your vaccines
• Update your medical records
• Consider medication changes
• Identify other health risks

Yearly check-ups are simply an essential part of maintaining good overall health. They’ll only become more essential as you get older.

What To Expect At Your Check-Up

Each year your check-up will be more or less the same, with new things being added occasionally as the years go by. The purpose of a check-up is to monitor your changing health and prevent concerns before they become a problem. This will involve exams that test your mobility, your ability to answer questions, and your overall appearance. As part of this, your physician will check your heart rate, your respiration, and blood pressure.

The specifics of your next check-up will depend on your overall health and the results of past exams. To uncover what to expect at your next appointment, give your physician a call. You can schedule your next visit and discuss what you can look forward to as part of your exam. By making the call early you’ll be able to start your New Year with your eyes wide open as pertains to your health. Don’t wait, next year could be the one in which you take control of your health!

Is Vaping The Road To Smoking Cessation?

Every year nearly 70% of all those who smoke report that they desire to kick the habit. Considering how bad this vice is for our health, it’s not surprising how high this number is. Quitting provides significant benefits for nearly every organ in your body. Your heart health, in particular. Nearly 33% of all heart disease-related deaths have their foundation in smoke exposure, both directly and from secondhand smoke. For this reason, many smokers are looking at vaping and wondering if it might be a first step to quitting.

Vaping And Its Effect On Smoking Cessation

There’s a growing movement of smokers attempting a change to vaping to help them on their way to quitting. This has prompted a growing number of studies into the health effects of vaping. The following tips have been shared by Michael Blaha, M.D, M.PH, who serves as the John Hopkins Ciccarone Center For the Prevention of Heart Disease director of clinical research.

• Vaping is safe(r) than smoking: Your lungs are meant to take in clean air and extract oxygen from it. Anything else entering your lungs isn’t good for them, including vapor. However, tobacco smoke is known to contain over 7,000 chemicals. In addition, there’s the heat of the vapor and the tar in the smoke. While vaping isn’t good for you, it’s definitely got fewer chemicals than tobacco smoke.
• Research Suggests Vaping Still Affects Your Heart and Lungs: If you’re using vaping juice that contains nicotine, then it continues to be addictive. As long as you’re inhaling nicotine, you’ll be craving smoke and undergo the same withdrawal symptoms if this craving is ignored. If you’re using nicotine-free vape juice, however, you’ll avoid this risk and have a better chance of quitting smoking with vaping.
• Nicotine Bearing E-Cigarettes Are Just As Addictive: It’s important enough to bear mentioning twice. Studies indicate that nicotine can be as hard a habit to break as cocaine and heroin. Higher-strength cartridges of vape juice may actually contain more nicotine than cigarettes. Adjusting the voltage upward will also result in more nicotine occurring in each pull. If you’re trying to vape to quit smoking, use low to no-nicotine vape juice.
• E-Cigarettes Work For Some, But Aren’t The Best Option: While E-Cigarettes are often marketed as a way to quit smoking, this statement hasn’t been validated by the FDA. Studies suggest that those who take vaping up as a way to quit smoking often end up using both.
• Vaping Is Addicting A New Generation: A poor understanding of the health consequences of vaping over smoking has led to more youth picking up vaping. This new generation may have never touched traditional tobacco. Despite this, there’s a rising tide of youth that are taking up vaping.

It’s important to recall that, in most cases, vaping has fewer health consequences than smoking traditional tobacco. However, what remains unchanged is that it is not as healthy as not taking up either vaping or smoking.  

Speak To Your Medical Provider For Smoking Cessation Tips

If you’re looking for ways to quit smoking, speak to your medical provider. The majority of medical clinics provide numerous smoking cessation options. Call yours and speak to them about what options are available.