Sometimes it seems like men will take care of anything—cars, lawn, kids, or their short game—before they actually take care of themselves. Unfortunately, the old saying of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” doesn’t apply to your health. This men’s health month, we invite men to consider taking a more active approach to their well-being. Establish with a primary care provider today for a healthier tomorrow. Need more reasons? Try these the next time Dad wants to put off his wellness visit:

You can screen diseases before they start: What you don’t know can hurt you, but illness isn’t inevitable. With regular visits to your primary care provider in the form of annual physicals, you can stop the progression of disease. What might be stage four cancer in two years could be much easier to treat now. Getting your screenings, even if you feel perfectly healthy, is essential to preventing potentially deadly diseases. For example, one in five men will die from cardiovascular disease and men’s average age of death from this preventable disease is only 65.
Here are a few things that you can do now to reduce your risk of heart disease:

  • Get your cholesterol checked, beginning at age 25 and every five years.
    • Control your blood pressure and cholesterol, if they’re high.
    • If you smoke, stop.
    • Increase your physical activity level to 30 minutes per day, most days of the week.
    • Eat more fruits and vegetables and less saturated or trans fats.

Small steps of prevention now can make a big difference further down the road.

Relationships count: The better your provider knows you, the better he or she can be at helping to keep you healthy. And if you do have a major health issue, it will be much more pleasant to address your condition with a trusted advisor rather than a stranger.

It’s never too late: Even if you’ve missed a couple years—or decades—of annual checkups, it’s never too late to establish or reconnect with a primary care provider. Make an appointment to invest in your health today.

This men’s health month, give yourself the gift of a better lifestyle and a longer life. Make an appointment with your primary care provider at Primary Care Partners today.