What is the purpose of a preventive medical check-up?

What does a preventive medical check-up at Doktershuis Antverpia entail?

A preventive medical examination is not a standard 'one-size-fits-all' checklist with us. As every body and lifestyle is unique, we tailor the medical check-up to your specific profile, age and family history.

When you choose a medical check-up at our practice, you can expect a smooth and coordinated process in which you are completely central. Depending on your personal indications, our health check-up consists of several steps.

Step 1: The basic clinical trial

Everything starts with the basics. Before we look at specific parameters, you undergo a comprehensive basic clinical examination. The doctor takes time for an in-depth history, namely a conversation about your medical history, family risks and current lifestyle. The doctor also performs the necessary basic measurements such as blood pressure, weight, etc. This gives us the medical foundation needed to shape your personal medical check-up.

Step 2: Specific consultations by medical domain

At Doctors' House Antverpia, we are distinguished by our multidisciplinary nature. After the clinical examination, we look further via targeted and specialised doctors. Depending on your profile, age and risk factors, you will be paired with the right specialised doctors within our various disciplines for a consultation.

Whether it is cardiology, dermatology, gynaecology, neurology or even neurosurgery, you enjoy the expertise of specialists working closely together. Curious about the full list of our specialisms? View the complete overview of all our medical consultations.

Step 3: Advanced technical investigations

For a medical opinion to be watertight, it must be supported by objective data and imaging. That is why targeted and technical examinations follow consultations.

Thanks to high-quality medical equipment, you do not need to leave our practice for these examinations and any more complex screenings. We perform these examinations ourselves.

• Cardiology: We look at how your heart performs at rest and under pressure. We do this through an ECG, echocardiography and a cycling test to detect any oxygen deficiency on exertion.
• Gastroenterology: To detect polyps or early stages of colon cancer, our specialists perform preventive colonoscopies and gastroscopies from.
• Pneumology: Via pulmonary function tests We measure your lung volume and airway clearance, which is essential when screening for smokers or chronic fatigue.
• Urology and gynaecology: Targeted preventive screenings such as a gynaecological ultrasound or uroflow to rule out structural abnormalities at an early stage.
• Radiology: High-quality ultrasounds of the joints and soft tissues, blood vessels and organs to directly visually record cysts, inflammations or vasoconstrictions.
• Vascular medicine: Through an advanced Duplex scan we screen the carotid arteries, aorta and blood vessels in the legs. This is essential to identify arteriosclerosis, stenosis or the risk of aneurysm in time.
• Neurology: With the help of an EEG we measure the brain's electrical activity. In addition, we use an EMG map the functioning of your muscles and nerve conduction, which is crucial in early detection of nerve compression or neuropathy.
• NKO: In addition to a visual inspection of the upper airways, we also perform objective audiometric tests and tympanometry out to preventively identify hearing loss or pressure problems in the middle ear.
• Ophthalmology: Through specific eye examinations we can spot early vascular damage caused by diabetes or high blood pressure. Your eyes are the mirror of your health.

All these diagnostic tools are used to uncover latent health risks even before they effectively cause symptoms. A full overview of what is technically possible in our practice can be found on our page on the medical examinations.

The big advantage of this approach? Because the clinical base, specialists and advanced examination equipment are under one roof, you do not lose time and communication between the different doctors is smooth.

Want to know what your check-up day looks like in concrete terms? Then be sure to read our blog on the health check.

For whom is a preventive medical examination recommended?

A preventive medical check-up basically makes sense for anyone who wants to be conscious about their health. Yet we see in our practice in Antwerp some specific target groups for whom such a preventive health check is particularly valuable.

• Forties and fifties: From the age of 40 to 50, our bodies begin to change. This is often the period when risk factors such as rising blood pressure, incipient diabetes or elevated cholesterol go unnoticed. A timely baseline measurement helps us make timely adjustments to your health where necessary.
• Persons with a family burden: Do heart disease, diabetes or certain forms of cancer run in your family? Then targeted preventive screening is no luxury. By knowing your genetic predisposition, we can start monitoring in a much more targeted way.
• Entrepreneurs, managers and high-performers: Those who lead busy professional lives are often exposed to chronic stress. Under this high pressure, we ignore subtle signals from our bodies just a little too easily. A medical check-up offers busy professionals a clear and objective insight into their physical stress resistance and general health status.
• Sportsmen and athletes: Are you planning to start exercising intensively again after years of inactivity? Or are you training for an intense challenge such as a marathon or cycling classic? A preventive medical examination, including a cycling test at the cardiologist and a pulmonary function test, is crucial to ensure that your heart and blood vessels can safely handle this acute peak load.
• Patients with vague, unexplained complaints: Sometimes you are not sick, but you have been feeling less than optimal for a while. Think of persistent fatigue, vague muscle aches, mild concentration problems or intestinal complaints. A medical check-up helps to make the pieces of the puzzle fall together though.
• Anyone who wants to maximise Healthy Lifespan: There is also a rapidly growing group of people who feel core health, but want to maintain it for as long as possible. The aim here is not to detect disease, but to optimise their vitality. This medical compass gives you data needed to work proactively on your lifestyle, nutrition and ageing.

Although the focus may vary from person to person, a preventive medical check-up for any adult, the smartest investment in the future. Taking control gives peace of mind, control and perspective.

Why is a preventive medical check-up necessary?

Scheduling a medical examination, while you feel in core health, requires a conscious click in your mind. Why is a preventive medical examination then so necessary?

• Eliminating silent risks: Many of the impactful diseases, such as high blood pressure or arteriosclerosis, do not hurt in the early stages. You don't notice them at all until it's too late. A medical screening just uncovers these disease processes, when they are still in the developmental stages.
• Less invasive treatments: If an abnormality is found during a medical check-up, early treatment is often easier, less stressful and more effective than when a disease has already fully developed.
• A scientific compass of your lifestyle: The results of your check-up provide personal data. This gives you a concrete insight into your health and thus your lifestyle. This allows you to make targeted choices in terms of diet, exercise, sleep and stress management.
• Precious peace of mind: The constant doubts about vague pain or the fear of hereditary diseases takes energy. The mental peace of mind you get when a doctor has thoroughly evaluated your health is priceless.
• Social added value: Those who feel healthy and are also effectively healthy after a medical check-up have more energy for their social life. That is, you have more energy for your family, work and hobbies.
• Financial savings: A preventive medical examination is more beneficial in the long run than the cost of long-term illness and prohibitively expensive treatments that ultimately have no effect anyway.