﻿ Details about the Cardiovascular Check
This is a vital part of the assessment as it allows the nurse consultant to identify current or potential health problems. To save time at your assessment, you can download and print out the Cardiovascular Health questionnaire, then fill it out and have ready for your appointment. To download, click on the link below.
Approximately 16 million people have high blood pressure in the UK and many more may be unaware they have this condition. In most cases, a raised blood pressure indicates damaged arteries and is a sign that damage may be quite advanced. However, the sooner it is detected, the better chance a person has to prevent further damage to health. As well as your blood pressure, the nurse consultant also records your pulse pressure from the BP reading. A reading over 50 indicates a higher risk of stroke.
“Almost one in two men and women die from heart attacks or strokes. One man in four will have a heart attack before retirement age and a quarter of all deaths from heart attack occur in people under the age of 65. For women, heart disease and strokes are second only to cancer as the leading cause of death between the ages of 35 and 54.”
(The H Factor; Patrick Holford & Dr James Braly; p77).
These statistics may seem rather worrying but cardiovascular disease in the majority of cases is preventable, and if caught early on, can even be reversed by making a few, simple lifestyle changes.
The Cardiovascular Health Check takes approximately 60 minutes and consists of the following:
Checking your weight and height will determine Body Mass Index (BMI). This is a scoring system used by the medical profession to ascertain if someone is underweight, overweight or obese for their height. Below 19m2 is underweight; 20 - 24.9m2 is normal; 25 - 29.9m2 is overweight; 30 - 39.9m2 is obese; over 40m2 is morbidly obese.
The nurse consultant will check this measurement as it is a useful predictor of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Women should be less than 88cm and men should be less than 102cm.
At the end of the health assessment, the nurse consultant explains your results, points out any potential health risks and gives appropriate diet and lifestyle advice for you to follow. This is also included in “Your Personal Diet & Lifestyle” booklet for you to keep. You may also be advised to have certain blood tests, depending on the results from your assessment.
If any abnormality is detected during your assessment, which requires further investigation by a doctor, you will be given a letter to take to your GP.
For information on how to book a Cardiovascular Health Check, click here.
Follow-Up Health Checks
A one-off health check may be helpful in encouraging you to make some diet and lifestyle changes but without a follow-up check, you will be unable to measure any improvement or deterioration in your health.
The Follow-Up Health Check is recommended three, six or twelve months after the first check, depending on the results from your first assessment. It includes the same measurements of health as before. The nurse discusses any changes and provides further diet and lifestyle advice if needed.
The follow-up assessment takes approximately 60 minutes.
For information on how to book a Follow-Up Health Check, click here.
Group Health Checks for three to ten people are also available at a discounted rate.