Why Are Screenings a Good Idea?
Kansas resident Reva Everett had a heart attack at age 59, so she was under close medical scrutiny. Doctors monitoring her cardiac condition listened to her carotid arteries with a stethoscope but heard no “bruit”—a sound that can indicate artery blockage. However, unbeknownst to Reva and her doctors, she did have carotid artery blockage that put her at an increased risk for a stroke. She learned she was at risk after seeking out a vascular screening from Life Line Screening, the largest mobile provider of screening exams in the United States.
This illustrates the “catch 22” that healthcare consumers face. Vascular diseases typically progress without warning signs or with subtle, easily missed ones. In fact, half of all stroke victims have no symptoms prior to their attack. While most physicians check for carotid artery disease by listening with a stethoscope, this technique catches only about half of the actual cases of blockage. However, carotid ultrasound scans, like the ones provided by Life Line Screening, are generally not covered by health insurance and, as a result, are not typically ordered by doctors.
Very few medical professionals would challenge the benefits of mammography as a means to screen for breast cancer or the use of colonoscopy to detect colon cancer. While 76,000 Americans die annually from breast and colon cancers combined, more than double that number—157,000—die from a stroke, with many more left disabled.
Stroke is a huge problem and getting bigger. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, and the World Stroke Congress recently predicted that stroke will be the number one global killer by 2030. Nonetheless, the means to detect stroke risk today are accessible and affordable. Life Line Screening has screened nearly 5 million people who are of appropriate age and/or have risk factors, and it has identified vascular disease in 8-10 percent of them. That’s a significantly higher percentage of disease than detected by other commonly accepted screening tests, such as mammography and colonoscopy.
Since vascular exams are not covered by most insurance companies, people who have no symptoms but are interested in maintaining a healthy lifestyle seek out vascular screenings on their own. Some go to their doctors, hospitals or independent providers such as Life Line Screening, which brings affordable, hospital-quality, convenient preventive health screenings to communities across the country. Not every hospital has the capacity or personnel to conduct public health screenings. As a result, more than 370 hospitals around the country have worked with Life Line Screening to support vascular and osteoporosis screening outreach programs.
Life Line Screening makes a concerted effort to target an appropriate audience for its services. Life Line Screening recommends that people over age 50 be screened, since they are at highest risk for vascular disease. Because significant vascular disease is much less likely in people under 40, vascular screenings for younger individuals are not encouraged without a compelling reason—such as a strong family history, extensive risk factors or a physician’s recommendation.
Catch AAAs Early
It can happen in an instant. An aneurysm can burst and the consequences are often fatal. Actors Lucille Ball and George C. Scott were unfortunate, as both fell victim to this illness.
There is a solution: early detection. Politician Bob Dole and sports figure Bob Uecker both had the advantage of discovering their abdominal aortic aneurysms before it was too late. Early detection played a large part in their ability to defeat the odds and share their stories today. They had the opportunity to be proactive with their aneurysms—wouldn’t you like the same?
When you think of life-threatening illnesses, abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are not the first concern that comes to mind. Yet they are the tenth leading cause of death in men over age 50 and the thirteenth overall. One aspect that makes AAAs so deadly is the fact that many go undetected until it is too late. In the event of a rupture, the mortality rate is 80-90 percent.
An aneurysm is an abnormal ballooning or enlargement of a blood vessel. When this happens in the abdominal portion of the aorta—the largest blood vessel in the body—it is known as an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Aneurysms are caused when the lining in the wall of the blood vessel becomes weakened and expands. When the aneurysm reaches approximately 5 centimeters in diameter, it is at a higher risk for rupture. Physicians will often consider surgery once the aneurysm reaches this size.
The key to avoiding an unexpected rupture is caution. This includes taking part in health screenings on a regular basis.
Life Line Screening offers painless and non-invasive screenings at a low cost. All AAA screenings are performed using state-of-the-art ultrasound technology, which allows the aorta to be viewed and measured. The process enables the highly skilled technologists to identify aneurysms. If an aneurysm is detected through the screening process, the individual is instructed to seek further evaluation from his or her personal physician.
What is Vascular Disease?
Vascular disease is any condition that affects the circulatory system, which includes the veins and arteries that transport blood throughout the body. Most forms of vascular disease present no symptoms or only subtle ones. That’s why such conditions are known as “silent killers.”
Vascular disease can cause stroke, coronary artery disease, cardiovascular disease, sudden death, loss of limbs and disability. Vascular disease is prevalent throughout the world, and it contributes to the two leading causes of death worldwide: cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Vascular diseases manifest as different conditions.
Three frequent forms of vascular disease are:
- Carotid artery disease
- Peripheral arterial disease
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm
You are at higher risk for vascular disease if you meet any of the following criteria:
- Vascular disease is found primarily in people age 50 and older, and risk increases with age.
- People most at risk have a family history of vascular disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, poor diets or sedentary lifestyles.
- Also at risk are current and former smokers, heavy alcohol consumers and people who are overweight.
- African Americans have twice the risk of developing peripheral arterial disease than any other group of Americans.
- Men are more likely to suffer from clogged arteries than women.
- Women who use oral contraceptives and smoke face a higher risk of stroke as they age, as do women who have had their ovaries removed.
Screening Added Years to Nurse Aid's Life
Gladys Bradley, age 68, had always been concerned about heart and vascular health. Her father had died at age 52. “They called it a heart attack,” she says. “Back then, they didn’t know about clogged arteries.”
Unfortunately, when she talked to her doctor about having her arteries checked for blockage, he said insurance wouldn’t pay for such a screening. So the Groton, Connecticut, retiree sat up and took notice when she received a letter saying that Life Line Screening would hold a preventive health event at a nearby school. For a reasonable price, the former nurse’s aid could be screened for carotid artery blockage, abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral arterial disease and bone density. “Something in my head just told me I should have it done,” she says.
As it turned out, a lot of her neighbors had the same idea. “They were ever so pleasant,” Bradley says of the Life Line Screening staff. “The place was lined up with people, but they didn’t take long.”
Bradley filled out her paperwork and moved from station to station for each screening. When Bradley had completed all of her screenings, a technologist informed her that the carotid screening did indicate some blockage, and Bradley was advised to take the results to her doctor.
Her doctor referred her to a specialist, who in turn directed her to a surgeon to correct the blockage in her left carotid artery. (Doctors are monitoring blockage in her right carotid, too, but that doesn’t as yet require surgery.) Bradley had never had surgery before, but she found the experience to be “wonderful—you can hardly see my scar. The surgeon said if I had not had surgery, I would have had a stroke within a year.”
Bradley is careful now about what she eats. She limits the saturated fat she consumes and eats lots of fruit and vegetables. Although she still craves carbohydrate-filled bread (“That’s where my problem lies”), diet and medicine have her cholesterol count down to a healthy 159.
A widow for 6 years, Bradley figures catching her carotid artery blockage in time has added years to her life—time she is glad to spend enjoying her 10 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. She also spends leisure time with a neighbor she has a lot in common with—they both had careers working in nursing homes. Bradley likes shopping, and is scouting around for volunteer work to do as well. She gets exercise walking her dog Benji, a shih tzu.
Considering all of these gifts she can still enjoy, Bradley calls Life Line Screening the bargain of a lifetime. “A lot of elderly people don’t have much money,” she says. “But if they can scrape up the money to have screenings done, it’s the best gift they can give themselves. You can buy clothes, but that’s not going to help your health.”
Disease Prevention Quiz
Test your knowledge of the measures you can take to protect yourself from serious diseases. Contact Life Line Screening today to register for a preventive screening. Answers can be found below.
1. What disease is the Number 1 killer of women?
- Breast cancer
- Heart disease
- Cardiovascular disease
2. What disease is the Number 1 killer of men?
- Prostate cancer
- Cardiovascular disease
- Heart disease
3. How often does someone suffer from a stroke in the United States?
- Every 60 minutes
- Every 5 minutes
- Every 45 seconds
4. True or false: Less than 1 percent of women who get screened by mammography are found to have breast cancer.
5. True or false: My insurance company will pay for preventive tests for carotid artery blockage, peripheral arterial disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm and osteoporosis—even if I do not show symptoms.
6. I am in great health. I would know if I were going to have a stroke or abdominal aortic aneurysm, right?
7. What is the common link found in cases of stroke, abdominal aortic aneurysm, and peripheral arterial disease?
- Heart disease
- Brittle bones
- Artery blockage
Guard Your Health with Simple Blood Tests
Vascular ultrasound screenings are just one component in preventing cardiovascular disease. It is also important to identify your risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, which have some of the same risk factors as stroke and vascular disease. In select locations, Life Line Screening offers simple blood tests that identify important risk factors for heart disease and diabetes.
The blood tests are conducted with a single finger-stick and a few drops of blood from the finger. Results are provided in less than 10 minutes. The instruments we use to perform the blood tests are cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and are lab accurate. The test results for total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol meet the “gold standard” for accuracy set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same instruments are used throughout the United States by major hospitals, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, laboratories and physician’s offices.
Life Line Screening conducts three important blood tests from that one little finger stick:
- Complete lipid panel. This measures total cholesterol, HDL (“good”) cholesterol, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and triglycerides. (Details below.) Requires 8 hours of fasting beforehand.
- Glucose. This measures blood sugar levels, an indicator of diabetes risk. Requires 8 hours of fasting beforehand.
- High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). A new marker for cardiovascular disease.
The complete lipid panel test mentioned above measures certain fats in the blood, including:
LDL cholesterol: Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) constitutes about 65 percent of the cholesterol in blood. LDL is often referred to as “bad cholesterol.” If too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain. Together with other substances it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can clog those arteries. This condition is known as atherosclerosis.
HDL cholesterol: High-density lipoprotein (HDL) constitutes about 30 percent of the cholesterol in blood. HDL is often referred to as “good cholesterol.” HDL carries bad cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it’s passed from the body. A high HDL level helps to protect against heart disease, while a low level of HDL increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Triglycerides: Triglycerides are the most common type of fat in the body. Like cholesterol, they circulate in your blood but are stored in body fat and are used when the body needs extra energy. Triglyceride levels increase significantly after eating. A high triglyceride level combined with a low HDL or high LDL can speed up the artery-clogging process.
Total cholesterol: This is the sum of all the types of cholesterol in your blood.
Answers to the Disease Prevention Quiz
1. Answer: B. Cardiovascular disease.
- 483,000 women die annually from cardiovascular disease.
- 26,000 women die annually from breast cancer.
- 17,000 women die annually from colon cancer.
Vascular disease can cause stroke, coronary artery disease, cardiovascular disease, sudden death, loss of limbs and disability. Vascular disease is prevalent throughout the world, contributing to the two leading causes of death worldwide: cardiovascular disease and stroke.
2. Answer: B. Cardiovascular disease.
As with women, vascular disease can cause stroke, coronary artery disease, cardiovascular disease, sudden death, loss of limbs and disability in men.
3. Answer: C. Every 45 seconds.
- On average someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds in the United States and dies from one every 3 minutes.
- Stroke claims more than 157,000 lives annually in the United States—about one of every 15 deaths.
- Each year about 700,000 Americans suffer a stroke.
- Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and the second leading cause of death in the world.
4. Answer: True.
The incidence of positive findings of breast cancer for women is less than 1 percent, while the incidence of positive finding for vascular disease for women is 8-10 percent.
5. Answer: False.
All of the Life Line Screening participants screened are asymptomatic, meaning that they show no symptoms or warning signs. Insurance will not typically cover screenings unless you show symptoms or warning signs. Therefore, your physician is not likely to provide these tests during a regular physical.
6. Answer: False.
Fifty percent of stroke victims have no symptoms before being stricken, and the mortality rate is 80 to 90 percent. Eight out of 100 people over age 60 have an undetected AAA. The fatality rate is 80-90 percent with a ruptured aneurysm.
7. Answer: C. Artery blockage.
Also known as atherosclerosis, the process in which deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium and other material build up in the inner lining of an artery.
