I went for my annual medical on Wednesday this week. All the blood tests, the prostate physical, resting and effort ECG, blood pressure… the whole story. I’ve been doing this since the early forties. (age that is) It’s something we all need to do. Us men have our list of requirements; the ladies have theirs. My doctor told me this week that it’s time for a colonoscopy. Not happy. All that stuff to drink. Otherwise I seem to have passed.
Annually I get sent claim stats from one or more of the insurance companies that I use. Hollard sent me their figures last month covering claim figures for 2023. The most number of claims was for death. The second most was for dread disease, followed in third by disability income benefits.
Inside the dread disease category, the highest number was cardiac arrest, then heart attack, then stroke, then depression, followed by back issues, then motor vehicle accidents (which would have resulted in many of the disability income claims), then cancer. Putting all heart categories together, they had over 500 heart related claims. Disability related numbered over 170. I’m sure these numbers could be multiplied by 10 or 20 if the stats for all insurance companies were added together.
We obviously need to pay a lot of attention to things that look after our heart (note to self), including blood pressure, weight, diet, etc. The highest health issue facing the world is possibly overweight and obesity, which naturally contributes towards heart claims.
What we all need to be doing, is trying to fit three half-hour exercise sessions into our lives each week, during which we significantly raise our heart rates. Plus limit or stop our consumption of processed foods. These two things will make the most difference to most people.
And then go for your annual medical. If you’re old, like me.