Lahey Hospital & Medical Center’s Executive Health Program Checks for Everything
The executive checkup caters to very paranoid, very wealthy, or very important people whose untimely death might destabilize the world. Lahey Hospital & Medical Center’s executive health program, founded in 1923, is one of the area’s oldest. These days, patients from more than 65 countries each year are subjected to a battery of tests over roughly six hours, then retire to a soothing lounge area with a big-screen monitor—snacks at the ready—for a summation and action plan with one of Lahey’s executive health physicians. These comprehensive exams, which start at $1,500, can unearth all manner of evils. Most common findings? Heart disease and melanoma. Resultant tests and procedures can cost more, though, like $108,000 for a heart-valve replacement, if necessary.
Photograph by iStockphoto
In the Blood
1.
Thyroid-stimulating hormone tests evaluate your thyroid health.
Fasting lipid panel tests determine cholesterol levels—good and bad.
Fasting blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C tests screen for pre-diabetes and diabetes.
Six liver-function tests, three kidney-function tests, and a urinalysis screen your organs for disease.
Electrolyte tests can detect heart disease, high blood pressure, heart failure, and liver and kidney disease.
Complete blood cell counts can reveal an infection or illness. Low red blood cell counts indicate anemia. Low platelet counts can reveal blood-clotting issues.
Low vitamin D levels can affect calcium absorption and bone density.
Elevated uric acid levels increase the risk of gout and cardiovascular disease.
Under the Hood
2.
Mammography and breast MRIs (for women at higher risk) can reveal breast cancer.
3.
Low-radiation chest CAT scans are given to people over 55 with an extensive smoking history to detect lung cancer.
Treadmill stress tests and stress echocardiograms can detect coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, ascending aortic aneurysms, and arrhythmias.
A coronary artery calcification score via chest CAT scan can screen for calcified plaque, an indicator of coronary artery disease.
4.
Bone density screenings can detect osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and men over 50 with risk factors (history of fractures, loss of height, steroid or prednisone use, smoking and alcohol abuse).
5.
An abdominal ultrasound screens for abdominal aortic aneurysms in men over 65.
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