It’s easier than ever to keep tabs on your day-to-day health with smart watches that measure heart rate and health apps that track your steps. While it can be intriguing to know what’s going on inside your body, it’s also crucial to have this information as chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes become more prevalent. After all, many chronic conditions have no obvious symptoms, especially in the early stages.
By combining comprehensive health testing with day-to-day smart health monitoring, you can be proactive about catching potential health issues early and prioritize lifestyle habits to manage those issues.
Understanding what a comprehensive health test can reveal
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 60% of adults in the U.S. have at least one chronic condition, such as heart disease, diabetes or obesity.
Without the visibility provided by screening tests, it can be difficult to identify risk factors before they progress. High cholesterol, for example, typically has no signs until it causes serious complications, such as a heart attack or stroke. Likewise, prediabetes usually has no symptoms before it becomes diabetes.
The good news is that these chronic health issues can sometimes be avoided if you catch them early. In fact, 80% of premature heart attacks and stroke can be avoided through healthy habits and screening for risk factors like high cholesterol and high blood sugar. Similarly, with early detection and lifestyle changes, prediabetes can be reversible.
A complete wellness screening can help you identify these issues as early as possible. Using a simple blood draw and urine analysis, Labcorp OnDemand’s Comprehensive Health Test checks several key markers, including:
- Cholesterol and lipids (i.e., fats in the blood)
- HbA1c (reflection of blood glucose levels over time) for diabetes screening
- Metabolic components (sugars, minerals, electrolytes, enzymes, waste products) for liver and kidney status
- Signs of kidney disease and diabetes
With results from your comprehensive health profile in hand, you can take action to improve problematic areas and even change them permanently.
A full health panel is only one step in a proactive approach to your health. This is where smart health monitoring comes in.
From metrics to movement: Taking control with smart health monitoring
Whether you have a smart watch or a health app on your phone, smart health monitoring can give you many insights into your overall well-being. From Apple Health to Google Fit and Samsung Health, there are several ways to continuously monitor your activity, sleep, heart health and more.
Most smartphones include basic trackers that automatically log details like your steps or calories burned. Depending on what type of device you’re using, you might have access to additional features or more refined platforms. For example, Apple Health offers tools like Cycle Tracking for menstrual health and Medical ID to store important health data (allergies, blood type, medical conditions). Google Fit, on the other hand, has a feature called Heart Points, developed in collaboration with the American Heart Association, that allows you to focus on guideline-recommended activity goals. Meanwhile, Samsung Health has a Together section of its app that encourages you to create interactive wellness challenges for yourself and your friends and family—a great way to stay accountable for your goals.
Using your comprehensive health test results, you can also manually input your health data into your phone. For instance, if you’re managing diabetes, Apple Health allows you to add data for details like blood sugar levels and insulin delivery. With Apple Health, you can also link to certain providers’ electronic patient portals to automatically share test results, including from the Labcorp PatientTM Portal.
Regardless of what your device includes, these different tools can help you track key metrics like step count, exercise minutes and heart rate variability, all of which can help you meet your fitness and wellness targets.
A perfect combination to empower your health habits
Combining a complete wellness screening with smart health monitoring gives you a powerful one-two punch for taking control of your health.
Whether your comprehensive health panel uncovers signs of high blood sugar, early symptoms of heart disease or results within expected ranges, smart health monitoring puts in you the driver’s seat to make any necessary changes and maintain wellness long-term.
To start taking control of your health, visit Labcorp OnDemand and explore our Comprehensive Health Test.
