According to a study conducted in 2018, only 8% of adults in the U.S. who are at least 35 years went for the preventive care the doctors recommended to them. The number is surprisingly low despite the innumerable benefits of preventive care. Preventive care enables doctors to detect health problems early on, thereby helping you stay healthy. Here is everything you need to know about it.

Preventive Care Explained
Preventive care consists of the health services the doctor relies on to screen and, if possible, identify health issues before they start affecting your health. One of the main reasons why doctors advocate for preventive healthcare is that it helps you live a longer and much healthier life.

Adult preventive care encompasses screenings for conditions like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. It also consists of counseling individuals to stop smoking and focus on eating a balanced diet.

The Types of Screenings, Tests, and Services That Are Part of Preventive Care
At Concierge Consultants & Cardiology, Dr. Tiffany Di Pietro and her team carry out preventive care in adults to check for conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. However, preventive care is not all about screenings; it also involves immunizations against serious illnesses like Covid-19 and the flu. Furthermore, doctors may educate and counsel you during a preventive care session to help you make positive lifestyle choices that improve your overall well-being and health.

It is important to note that the types of screenings doctors recommend for individuals may vary, depending on age and family history. Some of the most common preventive care screenings for adults include:

• Preventive counseling to screen for mental conditions, help with smoking cessation, and ensure you make the right healthy lifestyle choices.
• Screenings for diabetes, cholesterol, and blood pressure to help detect common metabolic conditions, which, when diagnosed, can then be treated through lifestyle changes and medication.
• Screenings for colorectal, cervical, prostate, and breast cancers to detect some of the most common cancers that affect men and women and ensure they do not spread or become more serious.

Di Pietro is a gifted cardiologist offering great preventive care services to help keep your health in check and ensure you do not struggle with unprecedented health issues later in life.

The Difference Between a Diagnostic Test and a Preventive Test
When you visit the doctor for tests in Fort Lauderdale, you may receive preventive tests and/or diagnostic tests. Preventive tests are screenings that doctors conduct to detect conditions and diseases before they start to show symptoms. On the contrary, diagnostic tests are carried out once symptoms are present; they help doctors learn more about a disease or condition.

An example that best shows the difference between these two is when you visit the hospital to check whether you have diabetes. If the doctor conducts a screening blood test for the condition, yet you do not have any symptoms, then this is a preventive test. But if you have already received a diagnosis for the condition and get a test to check your A1C and blood sugar, this is classified as a diagnostic test.

Benefits of Preventive Care
Health practitioners carry out preventive care to help keep you as healthy as possible. Through preventive care screenings, doctors are able to identify if you have any medical issues and take appropriate measures before they can advance. The three main benefits of preventive care are:

• Helping you focus on your health-related goals
• Enables doctors to detect diseases, illnesses, and medical problems early, thereby making it easier for them to provide proactive treatment and care
• Health coverage pays for most preventive care screenings

Di Pietro is a highly-skilled cardiologist who carries out comprehensive preventive healthcare tests to keep the residents of Fort Lauderdale, FL happy.

The Bottom Line
If you want to stay healthy and happy, you should consider going for preventive tests regularly. Medical experts highly recommend it since it helps them identify serious conditions before they happen. Schedule an appointment with Di Pietro today to know more about why you need to go for preventive care.