What is health screening?

Comprehensive Health Screens

To get an idea of what health screening is, just think of the kind of processes used by trained medical technologists to check the state of a person’s health. The trained screeners currently use state of the art and modernised equipment to get accurate laboratory results. There are usually three types of preventive health screenings.

Ultrasound screenings

The other name for Ultrasound is sonography. This is a technique used for screening that makes use of sound waves so as to image body structures. The process involves the transmission of high frequency-sound waves over a particular area of the body and records the returning echoes. The method was first used during the Second World War to locate objects that were submerged. It is currently used to monitor and detect medical conditions for such areas like cardiology, ophthalmology, and obstetrics. These equipment checks:

• Screening the abdomen
• Carotid artery-disease screening
• Ankle brachial-index screening-used for peripheral arterial disease)
• Bone mineral-density screening that is used mainly for osteoporosis risk

Finger stick-blood screenings

The finger stick screening is used for selected locations. The simple kind of screening is used to identify some important risk factors that apply to diabetes and heart diseases. The process used is to prick the soft pad part of the finger and then take a few blood drops. The screening experts will do processes that are FDA approved and laboratory accurate. These kinds of screening will be found in some of the major hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, and laboratories. The results are fast and accurate. Some of the screening includes:

• Complete-lipid panel screening that carries out measurement of total cholesterol, LDL- ("bad" cholesterol), HDL- ("good" cholesterol), and triglycerides.
• The glucose screening to measure blood sugar levels in diabetic cases
• High sensitivity- C-reactive protein screening to measure C-reactive protein that is an indicator for-cardiovascular disease.
• Elevated-liver enzymes screening that Measures ALT levels and AST-liver enzymes that diagnoses a liver injury.

Limited electrocardiograph

The method is used to detect atrial fibrillation a condition that relates to an irregular heartbeat. It contributes to strokes and heart attacks.