In medicine, when people are screened for diseases, they undergo various tests or examinations to help rule out or rule out factors that may suggest their presence. Cardiovascular screening, which can vary in intensity of testing, screens people for different forms of heart disease and stroke. There are different guidelines about who should receive this type of screening and exactly how extensive the evaluation should be.
In many cases, cardiovascular screening is performed on people beginning in their 40s and 50s. When people are eligible for this test, from an insurance perspective, it depends on what other risk factors they have, suggesting an elevated risk of heart disease. For those who appear relatively healthy, with no family history of heart disease, no presence of conditions such as diabetes, and no markers such as obesity or smoking, screening is initially done for people at age 50. All of this could change if people have multiple risk factors for heart disease, and at routine physical exams, doctors are likely to assess present risk and determine if cardiovascular screening is needed sooner.
The simplest type of screening is a blood test that evaluates different aspects of the blood. One of the most important measurements is the cholesterol level. Higher cholesterol could indicate the development of plaque in the arteries, and this creates a risk of damage to the coronary arteries and stroke. In case cholesterol levels are high, doctors can create a plan with patients to lower levels using diet, medication, or a combination of both.
Sometimes cardiovascular screening becomes more extensive and the need for further testing depends on various factors. If a patient shows signs that she may already have some form of heart disease, doctors may want more concise images of what's going on. In addition to blood tests, they might have patients undergo an electrocardiogram (EKG) to assess heart rhythm. Other tests, such as an echocardiogram or ultrasound of the heart, may be suggested. Exercise testing is another potential way to see the efficiency and capacity of the heart as it works harder.
Although cardiovascular screening is often done in middle-aged and older people, this group is not the only one to benefit from such screening. Most medical groups strongly recommend that any athlete at the middle school, high school, college level, and beyond also receive cardiovascular screenings. These tests, when comprehensive, tend to involve an EKG, echocardiogram, and blood tests. They are done to catch any athlete at risk of sudden cardiac death while exercising.
Screening is a means of contracting the disease before many symptoms appear. If people notice symptoms they think might be cardiovascular disease before they are eligible for screening, they should still report them to their doctors. Heart disease can occur much earlier, in a smaller group of people. Early diagnosis and treatment can be helpful in preventing further damage to the cardiovascular system.