These tests are a way for hospitals to improve their “brand” and name recognition in the community.Ī 2013 Washington Post / Kaiser Health News report noted that: Yet from a marketing point of view, this offer is tempting. So medically speaking there is no evidence these save lives. This means harms from screening, even though a painless ultrasound, is outweighed by future testing. This includes ABI as listed above, as well as high sensitivity c-reactive protein.įor carotid artery disease, the USPSTF recommends against any screening in July 2014 as a recommendation D. Again, for patients who do not have leg or foot pain with activity, lack of pulses on the top of the foot, history of smoking or other circulation problems like heart disease, stroke, these this particular test has no evidence that it is helpful.įor heart disease screening, USPSTF noted recommendation I in October 2009 when using non-traditional risk factors. This is what the USPSTF reviewed and what HealthFair and Life Line use in their testing. It is using ultrasound to determine if there is a difference in blood flow from the arms (brachial) and the legs (ankle). The technique used is called the ankle-brachial index (ABI). This means insufficient evidence to determine the risk or benefit of screening. That is covered by insurance so why pay out of pocket?įor peripheral vascular disease screening, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) in September 2013 made a recommendation I. Again for men between 65 to 75 years old who have ever smoked 10 packs or more of cigarettes, you should have an ultrasound for aortic aneurysm screening. Except for aortic aneurysm screening, which should occur in men between age 65 to 75 who have ever smoked 10 packs or more of cigarettes, there continues to be NO evidence that ultrasound testing for these conditions actually results in better outcomes, particularly in patients who have NO symptoms. If you have no symptoms of leg pain with walking, shortness of breath, or symptoms of a stroke or mini-stroke, then the chance you will find something medically important is low. For more advanced packages, HealthFair will also do blood work which can include testosterone, high sensitivity c-reactive protein, PSA (prostate specific antigen), and TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone). Using an ultrasound machine, they scan the public for peripheral vascular disease, heart disease, carotid artery disease, and aortic aneurysms. IMHO this would be of great benefit to cost reduction in the broken US healthcare system as well as to the health of patients.Is HealthFair or Life Line Screening worth your money? Both groups offer similar screening packages. It is regrettable that inexpensive ultrasound screening is not being more routinely and widely used to screen for ultrasound screenable conditions such as tumors, certain cancers, stones and left ventricular ejection fraction. IMHO this would be of great benefit to cost reduction in the broken US healthcare system as well as to the health of patients. I highly recommend that all patients make use of all the very price/effective screenings offered by Life Line Screening to prevent gratuitous morbidity, fatality and cost to patient. They were totally cured instead of the generally fatal alternative. We know two seniors screened for this condition, found to have these aneurysms and who had stents implanted via a catheter going up an artery from the groin. One athletic young tennis pro dropped dead of internal bleedout from a ruptured aortic aneurysm. We know multiple patients who have had such aneurysms. Most important in my opinion is the ultrasound test for one silent killer, the abdominal aortic aneurysm. This is a first class outfit which travels around to many local sites doing certain medical screening tests, most valuably to me their inexpensive ultrasound (for abdominal aortic aneurysm and of the carotid arteries) at a tiny fraction of the price at fixed base local firms and hospitals.ĭiscounts will be readily obtained by a Google search and/or by signing up for the informative Life Line Screening newsletter.
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