What Tests Are Used To Detect Early Signs of Serious Health Issues

Over the years, the medical industry has seen a lot of progress. In today’s world medical tests have improved greatly and can help detect serious health issues much earlier. This, in turn, enables doctors to catch and treat the condition earlier before it has even more damaging effects. In this article, we discuss some common medical tests that are used in the detection of serious health conditions.

A Mammogram

Did you know that breast cancer is the second leading cancer cause of women death’s globally? However, when breast cancer is detected early, the chances of survival go up. This is where mammograms come in. Mammograms are some of the best early detection tests for breast cancer available in the health industry. Mammograms are low-dose x-rays for the breast. They help detect any breast changes that could be cancerous years before the physical symptoms of cancer even begin to develop.

Furthermore, currently, there is an even more developed type of mammogram known as digital breast tomosynthesis or 3D mammography. The 3D mammogram is much more effective at the early detection of breast cancer.

Nonetheless, for mammograms to be even more effective at early detection of breast cancer, they should be combined with clinical breast exams and breast self-exams.

Electrocardiogram (ECG)

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death globally. In the UK alone, more than 160,000 people die each year from heart and circulatory diseases. The electrocardiogram is one of the most effective tests for helping in the early detection of common heart diseases. It does this by recording the electrical signals produced by your heart each time it beats. Doctors use it to:

• Assess any abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia)

• Coronary artery disease

• Heart attacks

• Cardiomyopathy

• Ischemia

Currently, ECG machines can be placed in your smartwatches to assist in monitoring the heart beat to ensure the heart is happy and healthy, and any problems may be detected as soon as possible.

Low-Dose CT Scans

A low-dose CT scan is a type of X-ray scan that can be used in the early detection of lung cancer. Lung cancer is one of the deadliest cancers globally and can put down about 1431,880 each year. However, just like with most cancers, there is a great chance of survival if lung cancer is detected early.

A low-dose CT scan will take numerous images of a patient’s chest area as they lie on the table that slides in and out of a CT scan. These pictures are then combined to create an in-depth image of your lung to determine whether you have any abnormalities in your lungs that may be cancerous. This medical test is usually recommended for former or current smokers or people between the ages of 50-80.

Colonoscopy

A colonoscopy is probably one of the most well-known medical screening tests in the world. This famous test is usually used to detect colon and rectal cancers early before they spread out to other parts of the body. This is especially useful considering that colon cancer is one of the fourth most common types of cancer in men and women and is the second biggest cancer killer in the UK.

Thus a colonoscopy uses a long flexible that includes a tiny camera at the tip of the flexible tubing. The tubing is then inserted into the rectum and moved up the colon. The insides of the colon will then be viewed from a screen that showcases the video being recorded by the tiny camera in real-time.

The colonoscopy will be used to investigate any gastronomical symptoms such as abdominal bleeding, or pain. Or look for any early signs of colon or rectal cancer. Colonoscopies can also be used to get rid of polyps before they get dangerous.

Fasting Plasma Glucose Test

Diabetes is a manageable disease, but it can have very damaging effects if left untreated. Early detection of diabetes is very important to ensure that progression and damages of diabetes do not continue. One of the best early detection tests to figure out if you have diabetes or not is the fasting plasma glucose test. This test measures the levels of glucose in your blood screening if you may be considered diabetic or pre-diabetic.

The test is easy to do and involves taking a blood sample from a person who has been fasting for several hours.  When we fast for prolonged hours, this triggers the hormone glucagon, which causes the liver to release sugar into the bloodstream. Now, normally, if you do not have diabetes, your body will produce insulin to rebalance the insulin levels.

However, if a person has type 1 diabetes, they will be unable to produce enough insulin to balance out the glucose levels. If it is type 2 diabetes. Then the person will be unable to use the insulin produced effectively enough to balance out your glucose levels. The World Health Organization has established the following results for the fasting glucose test:

• Normal: Below 5.5mmol/l

• Impaired fasting glucose: Between 5.5 and 6.9 mmol/l

• Diabetic: 7.0 mmol/l

The IcleTest

Blood in your urine can be an indication of nothing, or a very serious condition such as bladder, or kidney cancer, or a myriad of various other diseases. However, in some cases, blood in the urine is not visible to the naked eye. This is where the Icle test comes in. The IcleTest is an at-home urine test kit that allows you to detect if you have any blood in your urine. The test is non-invasive and can be done as often as one chooses.

The IcleTest is a great early detection tool that helps diagnose a variety of serious conditions such as UTIs, bladder cancer, or kidney diseases.

There you have it. Some of the medical tests are used in the early detection of serious conditions. Early detection tests are of utmost importance to the medical community as they play a vital role in catching serious diseases early on before they cause further damage, making them easier to treat.