The Importance of Having an Annual Physical Even if You Feel Fine

When it comes to your health, prevention is the strongest weapon available, which means you need to be proactive. Of the 130 million people who currently live with a chronic illness in the United States, only a little more than half receive the preventive care they need, which can mean the difference between reversing the problem or having life permanently altered by it. 

These statistics underscore the importance of staying one step ahead of your health through an annual wellness exam.

At Wynantskill Family Medicine, located in Wynantskill, New York, Scott Parrotta, DO, and Ritchie Parrotta, DO, offer comprehensive annual physical exams. Our goal is to partner with you and your family for better health, and the best way we can do that is through an easy, annual check-in with us.

Even if you’re feeling great, there are compelling reasons to make your annual physical a top priority, which we review here.

Silent, but dangerous

Of the hundreds of potentially dangerous chronic diseases, many don’t present any warning signs until it’s too late. Let’s start with hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, which has the well-earned nickname, “silent killer.” If you have high blood pressure, there are generally no outward signs until it’s too late and heart disease, heart attack, or stroke develops.

Yet high blood pressure is a condition that we can easily check for and take the necessary steps to reverse, allowing you to avoid heart-related problems entirely.

The same holds true for diabetes. Some 84 million Americans are considered prediabetic, which means they’re on the precipice of an irreversible diabetes diagnosis. Here again, a quick check of your blood reveals the potential problem, allowing us to take measures to prevent a diabetes diagnosis.

There are many other conditions that cause no symptoms, such as glaucoma, certain cancers, metabolic issues, and more. Through an annual physical, we can check for any red flags and take the appropriate steps to safeguard your health.

Keeping track

Another major benefit of keeping up with your annual physicals is that these visits allow us to track your health year over year. With an established baseline of your health, we can spot any worrisome trends and take action quickly. More often than not, early diagnosis and intervention can make all the difference.

Valuable screening

Once we establish your medical history, your family’s medical history, and your lifestyle considerations, we can recommend the right screenings for your unique situation. Whether it’s for certain cancers or sexually transmitted infections, we can ensure that you receive the testing you need.

And this is on top of general screening, such as mammograms for women, colonoscopies for anyone over 50, and prostate testing for men, to name but a few.

The bottom line is that when we partner with you, we want to make sure that all of your health care bases are covered. A valuable part of the annual physical is planning ahead for any special screenings you may need and providing you with the orders (prescriptions) to complete them.

So, while we applaud you for feeling great, we still urge you to keep up with your annual physicals with us so we can keep you feeling that way.

If you have any questions about your annual physical or would like to set one up, call us today or request an appointment on our website.