A physical exam is an opportunity to focus on a health issue by taking a complete history and by examining you carefully. However, it is also a time to review preventive care and you are likely reading this because we have recommended that you book “a physical." In British Columbia, preventative visits are not covered by the Medical Services Plan but, by being efficient and preparing well, we can ensure that your preventative care is up to date when you come to see us for your physical. We put more time aside for these visits and it is often tempting to bring a list of your health concerns or symptoms to review, but often the very best way to use this time is to focus on ways in which we can promote well being, detect illness early and identify opportunities to improve health and longevity.
Your past medical history. We should ensure that we know about all of the major illnesses or conditions that you may have dealt with. We need to know about conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, cancers or conditions for which you have taken medication for long periods of time.
Your past surgical history. We should ensure that we know about all of the surgical procedures that you have undergone. Examples include tonsillectomy, removal of the appendix or gallbladder, etc.
Your medications. It is really helpful to bring all of the medications that you are currently taking, or an accurate list of these medications.
Your family history. It is particularly helpful for us to know some very specific details about your mother, father, siblings and children (your first degree relatives). We need to know whether any of your first degree relatives have had diabetes, heart disease before the age of 65 (this includes heart attacks, bypass surgery, cardiac stents and angioplasty) or strokes. We also want to know whether anyone has had colon cancer or prostate cancer and Please let us know if any first degree relative has fractured a hip, had a substance use disorder, or a mental health disorder. We may ask questions about other health conditions that members of your family have dealt with such as rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease.
Once we have collected this information we like to structure the core of a periodic health visit around five domains of health. Each of these domains allows us to review personalized preventative strategies and to discuss whether testing is a good idea for you or not. This list is not exhaustive and some of these screening strategies may or may not apply to you. If you are interested in the science behind preventative care, you might want to look at: The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care
Heart health. We will review your exercise habits, weight or BMI and diet and we will discuss your risks for heart disease taking into account your cholesterol levels, blood sugar, blood pressure, history of smoking and your family history. We will discuss how you might be able to reduce your risk of heart disease. It is very helpful to bring a home blood pressure log to your period health exam and to have any blood work that we have recommended done prior to your visit.
Colon health. Screening for colon polyps and colon cancer can be done with stool tests, sigmoidoscopy (a short scope to look at the lower 60 cm of your colon) or by undergoing colonoscopy. Screening can save lives by detecting non-cancerous polyps and cancer early and strategies are reviewed at Cancer BC. This testing usually starts at age 50, but can start earlier if you have a family member who has had colon cancer early in life, or if you have disease of the colon that increases your risk of colon cancer.
Prostate health: Screening for prostate disease in men who do not have any symptoms is controversial. If you have had any change in the flow of urine such as slow stream, frequent urination, dribbling or waking frequently at night to urinate please let us know immediately. If you notice blood in your urine, we need to discuss this urgently. Changes in sexual function should be discussed at the time of your physical and we need to know if you have noticed a marked change in the quality or duration of your erections.
After discussing these issues we should consider the pros and cons of screening for prostate disease which may include an exam of your prostate and/or blood testing such as the PSA. The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care outlines the pros and cons of screening here. The Mayo clinic also has a nice article about the PSA test here.
Mental health. Discussing mental health issues can be challenging for patients and a preventive exam is a great time to review coping, stress, substance use, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. It is important to know that your family doctor is interested in your mental health and has training to support you if your mental health is at risk.
Immunizations. There are multiple immunizations that we might review, depending on your age and health conditions. We may discuss or recommend tetanus, influenza, shingles and pneumonia vaccines. A good review of adult vaccines can be found at Immunize BC.
Thanks for having a look and for the comment. This question is hard to answer with a number and it depends on whether you are taking medication or not. Healthy young adults can sometimes feel perfectly well with blood pressures as low as 90/50. However, this blood pressure in an older patient who is unwell can be the sign of serious illness or over medication.
In healthy adults, generally, the lower the blood pressure the better. We will often decrease or eliminate medications if blood pressure is getting low enough to be causing symptoms such as dizziness with standing or intense fatigue. We often start to see these symptoms when systolic blood pressure (the upper number) gets below 100, b…
Pages look good, what is to low for BP?