The health check is one of the statutory early detection and preventive examinations. From the age of 35, you can have an examination every two years, which is paid for by your health insurance. The range of services depends on the type of insurance. The aim of the health check is to identify existing risks at an early stage.
Find out below which examinations are included in a health check.
The aim of the health check is to detect illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and diabetes as early as possible. In addition, the patient's general state of fitness and health is also determined. This allows measures to be taken to counteract health risks and thus avoid serious consequential damage in old age.
A health check can be carried out by a general practitioner, a general practitioner or an internist. However, the examination always follows a specific schedule. The check takes about two hours in total.
First, a thorough initial consultation is conducted, also known as an anamnesis. The doctor will ask about the following areas
The doctor will then carry out a physical examination, during which he will listen to your heart and lungs and determine your body weight and body mass index (BMI). Blood pressure and pulse are also measured. In addition, a urine sample is taken and blood is drawn. Various important laboratory values are determined for both. If a certain illness is suspected, the doctor may carry out further tests. Without a suspected diagnosis, these must be paid for by the patient. If you have private health insurance, these examinations may be covered by your insurance. Additional examinations include, for example, ultrasound, stress ECG or a colonoscopy.
The doctor uses a stethoscope for this examination. He can use this to listen to the heart and lungs and assess whether they are functioning normally. The heart is assessed based on the regularity of the heartbeat. The doctor can also assess the function of the heart valves. If these close poorly or are narrowed, they make noises in addition to the heartbeat. The doctor can then assign these noises to the heart valves. This can give rise to an initial suspicion of heart rhythm disturbances or heart valve insufficiency, i.e. if the heart valves are closing poorly. The doctor will also listen to the lungs for abnormal noises. If the breaths through the stethoscope sound rattling or whistling, the doctor can draw initial conclusions about water retention or lung disease.
Heart examination with a stethoscope @ Klaus Eppele /AdobeStock
However, different tables apply for children than for adults. In addition, athletes, for example, may also have a BMI in the overweight range, as muscles are heavier than fat. The BMI therefore only serves as a guideline and should always be interpreted taking all factors into account. Being overweight can promote many different diseases. These include, for example, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and osteoarthritis.
Table for adults @ Ali /AdobeStock
The pulse measures the mechanical, rhythmic expansion and contraction of the vessel walls, which is caused by the pumping of the heart. The pulse allows conclusions to be drawn about heart rate and heart rhythm. However, the pulse is influenced by a variety of factors, for example it increases during physical activity or excitement. This is why the resting pulse rate is determined during the examination. This is normally between 60 and 80 beats per minute for an adult. Based on the patient's pulse, the doctor can determine whether the heart is beating regularly and thus rule out a heart rhythm disorder.
Blood pressure indicates the pressure at which the blood is pumped through the blood vessels. It is measured in millimetres of mercury (mmHg) and consists of two values. The first value is the systolic blood pressure and the second value is the diastolic blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure is measured when the heart is pumping blood into the blood vessels. This phase is known as systole. The heart then relaxes again and the pressure drops. This phase is called diastole and is measured with the diastolic blood pressure. The values can be divided into different stages using a blood pressure table:
If the pressure in the blood vessels is permanently too high, this can lead to various secondary diseases. These include arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), strokes and heart attacks.
Blood pressure can provide indications of health and serious illnesses @ eyetronic /AdobeStock
Various metabolic disorders (e.g. diabetes mellitus) and kidney diseases can be detected using the laboratory values of the urine sample. If the sugar level in both the blood and urine is too high, this is diabetes. If elevated blood lipid levels, such as tryglycerides and cholesterol, are detected, this indicates hereditary lipometabolic disorders or an incorrect diet. These increase the risk of arteriosclerosis and therefore also of a stroke or heart attack. If there are red blood cells in the urine or if the protein and creatinine content is high, this may indicate kidney disease.
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