Preventive healthcare is a concept more common than ever as we are becoming more educated and empowered about our own health.1 Spotting health conditions or diseases early gives you the best chance for getting the right treatment quickly, thus minimizing complications. Regular check-ups improve both our physical and mental wellness. Check out professional advice from Dr. Stuart L. Lustig, National Medical Executive for Behavioral Health at Cigna, and this is an effective way to combat some of the deadliest diseases: 2,3
Monitor your health with fitness trackers
Besides regular doctor’s appointments, it is important to pay attention to our health conditions on a day-to-day basis. Fitness trackers are a great way to monitor your health, especially your heart condition. They also help you adopt healthier habits around sleeping, eating, exercising, and moving — with good habits comes better health.
Better heart health tracking
Fitness trackers come in all shapes and sizes, but almost all rely on a technology called pulse oximetry to monitor heart rate. For comprehensiveness, choose the ones that feature 24/7 bpm readings of heart rate variability and your resting heart rate (RHR). Breathing and heart rate variability determines how stressed you are and RHR can help identify potential health problems.4
When considered with blood pressure and cholesterol, a high resting heart rate could be a sign of increased cardiac risk, as the more beats your heart has to take eventually takes a toll on its overall function. A lower resting heart rate can mean a higher degree of physical fitness, which is associated with reduced rates of cardiac events like heart attacks.5
Make the Right Choice for Your Health
It’s great to have all your biometrics right on your wrist, but you need to truly understand the measurements for useful health implications. Accompany it with the myriad of mobile apps that help plan your diet, record your nutrition intake, inspire your exercise routine and more. Make the Right Choice for Your Health so you can have a good grasp of your well-being in between regular medical check-ups.
Reference:
- Pomona Valley Health Centres - The Importance of Regular Check-Ups
- SCMP - Improve screening for heart disorder to prevent strokes, Hong Kong doctors urge
- HKSAR: Centre for Health Protection - Topical Health Report No.4 - Prevention and Screening of Cervical Cancer
- Wareable - How to buy a fitness tracker: Everything you need to consider
- Harvard Medical School - Your resting heart rate can reflect your current — and future — health