Age 50: the most important screening tests to have

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Extract from the article: Your fifties are a real turning point for your health. Cardiovascular disease and cancer take root at this time of life. Whether you're in good health or not, now is the time to have a few simple check-ups. If diagnosed early, cardiovascular disease

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Your fifties are a real turning point for your health. Cardiovascular disease and cancer take root at this time of life. Whether you're in good health or not, now is the time to have a few simple check-ups. If diagnosed early, cardiovascular disease and cancer are curable.

Even though life expectancy has increased significantly, there is still a tipping point for everyone: the age of 50. At this age, we see the onset of certain more or less chronic pathologies.

Hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes: 3 diseases to watch out for

Screening for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes is essential. These are the three main risk factors. This makes it possible to estimate the risk of having a serious cardiovascular event in the next ten years.

Cardiovascular risk is at the forefront of health check-ups, where risk factors such as excess weight, smoking and addiction are systematically investigated. To avoid a possible stroke or heart attack, a vascular check-up is essential, as cardiovascular disease can progress slowly with few, if any, warning symptoms.When hypertension is treated, the cardiovascular risk is reduced.The same goes for cholesterol.

Fifty is a key age. Because high blood pressure can occur in both men and women.Women are not immune to the risk of a cardiovascular accident, and the risk is higher with the onset of the menopause. Smoking and alcohol are, of course, aggravating factors.

Cancer detected early can be cured.

From the age of 50 onwards, the prevalence of certain cancers increases.  The two main examinations to be carried out at this age are screening for colon cancer and, for women, for breast cancer or cervical cancer.  Screening is therefore vital: diagnosis at an early stage means that treatment is less lengthy, less complicated and less mutilating for the patient.Screening for breast cancer is also a public health issue: it is the number one cancer among women. It's important to have a mammogram every two years.  Women at high risk, because of a family history, for example, can be treated at a younger age.Here again, early detection increases the chances of cure: when lesions are spotted very early.

For prostate cancer, the most common male cancer, individual screening is needed, particularly for men with a direct hereditary link to prostate cancer. In Togo, Pr Kodjo Michel Tengue, Head of the Urology Department at the Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital in Lomé, reports that around 300 new cases of prostate cancer are recorded every year. Early detection is essential for effective treatment.

William O.