Planning on Starting a Fitness Program?
Consider Going for a Medical Assessment

Deciding to start on a fitness program could be one of the best decisions you can make. It might be because:

• You are doing it as part of weight loss regime
• You’ve signed up for an event like half/full marathon or even a triathlon
• You’ve been diagnosed with a medical condition
• You just want to improve on your fitness and to feel and look good

But before hitting the gym or pounding the pavement on 20km runs, you should consider seeing your GP for a medical assessment.

Why a Pre-Exercise Assessment?

“Man dies in Toronto marathon – Straits Times 26th Sept 2006, Colonel, 39, dies during biathlon – TODAY 27th march 2006.” These are headlines that have appeared in newspapers. Most cases of sudden deaths during exercise are caused by cardiac arrests. A medical assessment would be to determine who is at higher risk of such a catastrophic event.

Who Should go for an Examination?

• Men above 40 or women above 50
• Those who have a family history of heart attacks
• Those who have been previously inactive
• Smokers or those who quit smoking in the past 6 months
• Those who are overweight (BMI >25) or obese (BMI >30)
• Those who have a history of heart problems
• Those who have a chronic medical illness such as high blood pressure and diabetes

Doctors are checking for the presence of cardiovascular risk factors, which when present can increase one’s risk of having asymptomatic heart disease. These can be divided into:

1. Not controllable or modifiable risk factors
   • Age
   • Gender
   • Family history (heredity)
2. Controllable or modifiable risk factors
   • Smoking
   • High BP
   • High cholesterol
   • Sedentary lifestyle
   • Obesity
   • Stress n behaviour

A medical history, examination and laboratory tests will help determine if any of the above risk factors are present. Sometimes an exercise treadmill will be done for further evaluation of the heart.

Dr Kwan Yew Seng
Medical Doctor
Complete Healthcare International