Ages 65+

Recommended Health Screening And Prevention Steps
For Women Ages 65+

This "settling down" age is a great time to continue your healthy habits. If you neglect a routine of eating well and staying fit, disease can threaten your health during this time.

Maintaining mobility is even more important now, so you will need a lifestyle that keeps your senses alert and your body strong and flexible to avoid disabling falls. At this age your body has become less tolerant of extreme activity, so establish a moderate exercise routine, with your health care professional's approval.

Sleep patterns change as we age, but disturbed sleep and waking up tired every day is not part of normal aging. In fact, troubled sleep may be a sign of emotional or physical disorders and is something you should talk about with a health care professional or sleep specialist.

If you smoke, this is the time to quit. Smoking can lead to lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in women.

Monitoring your heart health is vital at this time. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute:

About 14 million women aged 65 and older have high blood pressure.
Most women over age 65 have obvious heart disease or "silent" atherosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries"). In silent atherosclerosis, there are no symptoms, but fatty plaques have built up in arteries. Lowering cholesterol is especially important to keep heart disease and atherosclerosis from worsening.
Each year, about 314,000 women aged 65 and older have a heart attack.
The average age for women to have a first heart attack is about 70. Also, women are more likely than men to die within a few weeks of a heart attack.

Although your eating habits have likely changed, your body still has basic nutritional needs. You'll need the same regimen of vitamins (and in some cases more) to maintain a general sense of well-being. Ask your health care professional about a healthy diet for you.

Aspirin is recommended for women ages 55 to 79 when the potential to prevent an ischemic stroke outweighs the potential increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. There is insufficient evidence at this time regarding the risks and benefits of aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease in men and women 80 years and older.

The following screening and preventive steps should be followed in consultation with your health care professional:

Test/Vaccine	How Often
Blood Pressure	Every two years — 18 years of age and older
Body Mass Index (BMI)	Periodically — 18 years of age and older
Cholesterol	Every 5 years — men 35 years of age and older; adult women if at risk for coronary artery disease
Mammogram	Every 1 to 2 years — women 40 years of age and older
Cervical Cancer*	Every 1 to 2 years** — Beginning at 21 years of age or earlier if sexually active; if 30 years of age and older, either a Pap smear every 2 to 3 years after 3 consecutive normal results or HPV DNA test plus a Pap smear every 3 years if results of both tests are negative. Women 70 years of age and older may stop screening. Talk with your physician to discuss the method of screening that is right for you.
Colorectal cancer	Between 50-75 years of age — yearly screening with high sensitivity fecal occult blood testing, OR sigmoidoscopy every 5 years with high-sensitivity fecal occult blood testing every 3 years, OR colonoscopy every 10 years. Talk with your doctor about what type of screening is right for you and any benefits of screening over 75 years of age.
Osteoporosis (bone density test)	Routinely — women age 65 and older
Depression	Routinely — 18 years of age and older
Alcohol Misuse	Routinely — 18 years of age and older
Tobacco Use	Routinely — 18 years of age and older
Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis (Td/Tdap)	One dose Td every 10 years — 19 years of age and older; for 19-64 years of age, substitute a single dose of Td booster with Tdap
Zoster	One dose — 60 years of age and older
Influenza	Every flu season — 50 years of age and older
Pneumococcal	One dose — 65 years of age and older
Cervical cancer screening recommendations are based on the American Cancer Society guidelines as of 3/13/09. *Every two years when using newer liquid-based Pap test. The preventive health screenings are based on the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) as of 3/13/09. The vaccine recommendations are based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as of 3/13/09. Recommendations change often. A full list of the most current recommendations may be accessed at these websites.