Men's Health Week --PSA levels

High PSA levels

PSA stands for prostate specific antigen.  This blood test measures the amount of PSA in a man’s blood.  An elevated level points to prostate cancer.  While the PSA test isn’t without false results (both positive and negative), it’s the best screening test currently available.  It indicates when there’s a problem so the doctor can do further testing.  A normal PSA level is below 4.0 ng/mL.  For more information about prostate cancer and symptoms, see http://www.driveforfive.com/high-psa.aspx   Another excellent website in the American Cancer Society at http://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostatecancer/

Mean's Health Week--high blood sugar

High blood sugar levels pose a health risk for men.  As Drs. Oz and Roizen write on page 144 of their book, YOU Staying Young:  The Owner’s Manual for Extending Your Warranty. “When you have diabetes—the disease that’s associated with blood sugar and insulin malfunction—you are essentially pickling yourself, basting yourself in fluid that has a high concentration of sugar.  The difference is that your diabetic pickle doesn’t exactly go all that well with a sandwich and some chips.”  Roizen, M, Oz, Mehmet, YOU Staying Young:  The Owner’s Manual for Extending Your Warranty, (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2007), 144.

13 million men over the age of 20 have diabetes.  Some of them do not know they have diabetes.  The three classic symptoms of diabetes include high levels of thirst (polydipsia), hunger (polyphagia), and urinating frequently (polyuria).  Other symptoms a person may experience include unexplained weight loss, feeling tired, frequent infections, tingling and numbness of feet or hands, blurry eyesight, and bruises/cuts that heal slower than normal.  For more information about diabetes risk for men, http://www.driveforfive.com/high-blood-sugar.aspx or

When it comes to living healthy with diabetes, there’s much that people can do to prevent complications. You can learn much from your doctor and the American Diabetes Association at www.diabetes.org

Men's Health Week--high blood pressure

Doctors talk about high blood pressure (called hypertension) when your blood pressure numbers are higher than 120/80.  The 120 is the systolic pressure and this number reflects the pressure inside your blood vessels when you heart pumps blood out to the body.  The 80 is called diastolic blood pressure.  It shows the pressure inside your blood vessels when your heart is resting.  When a person has high blood pressure, his heart must work harder to pump blood to all parts of the body.  Many people have high blood pressure and may not feel any symptoms.  High blood pressure can quietly harm the body organs such as the heart, kidneys, and brain. 

A person’s blood pressure can be checked easily by a manual or battery powered blood pressure cuff machine.  Once a person knows he has high blood pressure, he should work with his doctor to treat it.  Sometimes losing weight and exercising can bring the blood pressure down within normal limits.  Many prescription blood pressure medicines are available for treating high blood pressure.  A person should never stop taking his prescribed blood pressure medicine without his doctor’s approval.  More information about 5 important health risks for men can be found at  http://www.driveforfive.com/health-risks.aspx

Men's Health Week--high cholesterol

High cholesterol levels mean a person has elevated blood levels of cholesterol. A cholesterol test is usually broken down into total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL (low density lipoproteins, and HDL (high density lipoproteins). 

·        Normal total cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dL.

·        Normal Triglycerides (our bodies store excess food we eat and do not work off as triglycerides) level is below 150 mg/dL.

·        Normal LDL (low density lipoproteins or bad cholesterol) is 100 mg/dL

·        Normal HDL (high density lipoproteins or good cholesterol) is above 40 mg/dL (For HDL, a higher number is good.  One of the ways to raise your HDL is exercise. 

High cholesterol levels means excess cholesterol particles are floating around in our blood vessels and can become deposited on the inner lining of blood vessels and contribute to heart/cardiovascular disease. 

Let’s break down the mystery of cholesterol numbers.  Let’s discuss an imaginary man’s cholesterol numbers.  Jack Spratt has a total cholesterol of 182.  That’s less than 200 so that sounds good.  But Jack’s doctor will look at the other numbers also.  Jack’s triglyceride is 45.  His LDL  is 97.  (That’s good because it’s under 100) and his HDL is high at 76.  The HDL (high density lipoprotein) is better when it is higher than 40.  Jack Spratt’s doctor would be happy with these cholesterol numbers.  For more information about Men’s Health Week and high cholesterol, check out this website:  http://www.driveforfive.com/high-cholesterol.aspx

Men's Health Week

Mens Health Week is June 10-16 this year.http://www.menshealthnetwork.org/library/menshealthfacts.pdf

When you read the statistic that says women are 100% more likely to visit their doctor for annual exams than men at http://www.menshealthnetwork.org/library/menshealthfacts.pdf, it sounds like many men don’t see their doctors as they should. How often should a man see his doctor for a physical exam?  It depends on his age and his physical health status.  For suggested checkups and screenings see the Men’s Health Network at http://www.menshealthnetwork.org/library/getitcheckedpostermen.pdf

Five important health risks for men are high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high PSA levels and low testosterone. I will briefly discuss these five health risks the next few days.