Lifeline Screening - the power of prevention

Life Line Screening - The power of Prevention

A few months ago, I was asked if I wanted to review a comprehensive, health screening.  I thought long and hard about whether or not it was something I wanted to do as I wondered if I was "playing God" and interfering in my life long destiny.  My main concern was how I and my loved ones would react if I did find out I was likely to have a heart attack in my 40s or my bone density indicated early onset of osteoporosis. 

My family history is unknown on my fathers side.   That is NOT my story to write without his permission, but it means that there are some health questions we don't know the answers to.  My dad had a heart attack in his late 40s and an aortic aneurysm recently which both increase my chances of suffering from something similar.  

I had a long chat with HAW and my parents and I decided that knowledge is power and that the power of prevention is a good thing.  

I suffer from an under active thyroid, slow metabolism and PCOS.  All of these are hormonal issues and how I ever had three children in five years, is really and truly a miracle.  I am on medication but still suffer from lots of symptoms such as weight gain and fatigue but after ten years of struggling, I have learnt to cope.

Since 1993, Life Line Screening have carried out over 7 million health checks so I knew I was in good hands and despite feeling very nervous, I was also positive about having a hand in my future health.

Firstly, I had a detailed telephone conversation with a consultant where we went through my medical history.  This was then followed up by scheduling a date for me to have five vital screenings in order to look at my future health.   Today was that day! 

 I headed off a place called Strawberry Lodge, where I had a warm welcome.  I filled in a form and waited about 10 minutes before being called for my first test.

The first test was atrial fibrillation and after having electrodes applied to my wrists and ankles I listened to "Hey Jude" whilst the test was carried out.  It was painless and over in about 1 minute.   All the way through, I was kept informed of what was going on.  I was told straight away that everything was within the normal range but a cardiologist would look in more depth.

The next screening was for peripheral arterial disease which, in laymans terms, is looking for a hardening of the arteries which in turn could lead to heart disease.  Cuffs were placed on my arms and legs and again, it was totally pain free and non invasive.  Again, I was reassured that my results were in the normal range but that the cardiologist would write to me with a more comprehensive diagnosis.

My next test was an ultrasound on my tummy, looking for an abdominal aortic aneurysm.  This was the one I was worried about, my dad has recently had this and sadly, it is hereditary.  It is also silent and you don't know that you have it until it is too late.  I found out that 80% of people die before they can be treated.  My dad was one of the lucky 20%.   This was non invasive and pain free, and reminded me of a neo-natal ultra sound.

My final test was a screening for cartoid artery screening, or the likelihood of having a stroke.  This was again carried out using ultrasound and the transducer was placed on my neck to assess the rate of blood flow within my cartoid arteries.  Luckily for me, everything was normal and I will be sent a more detailed analysis within the next two to three weeks.

I was also booked in for an osteoporosis screening but the machine was broken.  This has been scheduled for July so I will report on that then.  I am slightly concerned about this as although there is no history in my family of this, my ankles are very "clicky" after years of gymnastics.

The whole experience was one of ease and utter professionalism.   I would highly recommend this if you are worried in any way about your future health.  Prices start from just £25 for a glucose test.  Although I was the youngest there by some few decades, I will definitely be doing this again in about ten years time.  We only get one body, one chance at life, let's look after it as best we can.

Peace and Love

S.A.M xoxo

Disclaimer: I was asked to review the services provided by Life Line Screening.  I was happy to do so and all views are unbiased and a true representation of my findings.