What Conditions are Covered in Health Screening?

Taking care of your health isn’t just about addressing concerns as they arise. Health screening offers greater insight into current and future-health, without waiting for symptoms to appear. Read on for a comprehensive look at what health screening is and what conditions are covered.

What is Health Screening?

Health screening is the process of performing tests or procedures on otherwise healthy individuals in order to uncover risk factors for disease or detect disease in its very early stages.

The purpose of health screening is to identify those who might be more susceptible to certain health conditions, so that they can reduce their risk by making modifications to their lifestyle, or so they can receive early preventative care or treatment.

The NHS runs a number of health screening programmes, often targeted at ‘at-risk’ groups or certain age ranges who may be more likely to develop certain conditions.

However, not at all screening is available to everyone. Many people opt for private health screening to avoid waiting, get more in-depth or tailored insights, or to access screening tests they otherwise wouldn’t be eligible for on the NHS.

Why is Health Screening Important?

Screening provides you with the information you need to make informed choices about your health.

Understanding your risk of developing a condition can help you to make lifestyle changes, or access support to reduce your risk. Similarly, receiving an early diagnosis improves your chances of overcoming certain health conditions as it makes treatments more effective.

Ultimately health screening helps you to either stay healthy or live well and live longer with a health condition, and prevents complications or worsening symptoms.

Screening for health conditions can even save lives, for example, by reducing mortality rates from serious diseases such as cancer.

What Health Conditions Can be Screened For?

Thanks to technological advances and scientific research, there’s now a wide range of health conditions that are covered in health screening and can be reliably tested for.

Heart Disease and Cardiac Conditions

Cardiovascular disease is one of the UK’s biggest killers, responsible for around a quarter of all deaths each year. Fortunately, comprehensive screening for heart health can help to assess, diagnose and manage cardiac conditions enabling people to live longer, healthier lives.

Health conditions such as high blood pressure, arrhythmias, coronary artery disease, and atherosclerosis can all be detected through thorough screening and risk assessment.

Gaining an in-depth overview of your heart health through private health screening can help you manage existing cardiac conditions, understand your risk factors for developing heart disease in the future, and help you reduce your risk of complications such as heart attack and stroke.

Certain Cancers

Cancer is on the rise, with around 1 in 2 people now affected across a lifetime. Around 38% of cancer cases are preventable, and there are steps we can all take to reduce our overall risk of developing certain cancers.

Health screening can also help us understand our individual risk of cancer, and detect early warning signs of cancer.

Cancer types that can be screened for include breast cancer (via mammograms), cervical cancer (via cervical screening or a ‘smear test’), bowel cancer, and prostate cancer.

Thyroid Conditions

Thyroid dysfunction can impact energy levels, temperature regulation, skin and hair, digestion, weight, mood, sleep, and vision, among others. Therefore it’s important to detect any issues such as an underactive or overactive thyroid and get treatment as quickly as possible. Thyroid screening can be completed through a simple blood test to check the levels of certain hormones in your blood.

Liver and Kidney Problems

Issues with liver and kidney function can be detected through blood tests or urinalysis (testing a sample of your urine). These check for levels of certain enzymes and proteins that can indicate inflammation, damage or problems with the way your liver and kidneys are working.

Diabetes

The NHS doesn’t offer diabetes screening. Instead, those considered at increased risk of developing diabetes are monitored via their GP. However, private health screening can provide peace of mind by checking your blood sugar levels to ensure they’re within a normal range, and performing wider health screening to help you understand how to reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Hormonal Issues

Both men and women can suffer from hormonal issues throughout their lifetime. Private health screening such as endocrinology screening can help you manage and treat conditions such as low testosterone, menopause, and PMOS (previously PCOS).

General Health

Routine health screening such as regular blood pressure checks, BMI, cholesterol testing, and blood panels can paint a detailed picture of overall health. This can be used to assess risk for specific conditions, or to simply give insight into an individual’s current and future health.

What is Private Health Screening?

As mentioned, some screening services are available as routine on the NHS. However, these are reserved for target groups and age ranges. For example, women over 50 are invited for a mammogram to screen for breast cancer every 3 years, and at-home bowel cancer screening kits are offered to people between the age of 50 and 74, every 2 years.

Private health screening can ‘bridge the gaps’ between NHS screening, and allows people outside of target groups to access screening they wouldn’t otherwise be eligible for.

Whether you want to be more proactive about your future health, or you have concerns about your family history of certain conditions, private health screening can provide tailored insights and expert reassurance.

For those who are experiencing new symptoms, private health screening enables you to bypass long waiting lists and get answers - and treatment - sooner.

Private Health Screening at The Whitehall Clinic

Private health screening enables you to take control of your health and reduce your risk of disease.

At The Whitehall Clinic, we offer a wide range of private health screening and diagnostic services, including private blood tests, heart health screening led by a Consultant Cardiologist, bone health screening, and women’s health screening.

You can book an appointment for any of our screening services online, or contact the clinic for information and advice.