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.
The following screening and preventive steps should be followed in consultation with your health care professional:
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Test
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How Often
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Blood Pressure
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Discuss testing with your health care professional if you are at risk of diabetes.
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Weight/Body Mass Index (BMI)
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Clinical breast exams (CBE) every year; Report any breast change promptly to your doctor, regular breast self-exam (BSE) is an option.**
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Cholesterol
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Colorectal Cancer Screening
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Beginning at age 50 have a yearly stool blood test (FOBT), OR flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years, OR yearly stool blood test plus flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years, OR double contrast barium enema every 5 years, OR colonoscopy every 10 years.**
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Visit your dentist at least once a year. Brush at least twice a day, but no more than three times because brushing too often can cause gums to recede over time. Floss once a day.
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Routinely talk to your doctor about whether you should be screened.*
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Have a bone density test at age 65 to screen for osteoporosis (thinning of the bones).*
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Every 1 to 3 years or HPV DNA test plus a Pap smear every 3 years if results of both tests are negative***
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Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
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Discuss testing with your doctor if you have more than one sexual partner, a partner with more than one sexual partner, a history of STDs or sexual contact with a person with an STD.
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Do a monthly self-examination for changes that should be reported to a doctor. Have regular skin checks by a doctor if you have already had skin cancer.****
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