Desert Regional Offering Heart Screenings For $39
PALM SPRINGS – During these tough times, everyone is watching every penny. And Desert Regional Medical Center wants you to be healthy and save money.
This February, the hospital is offering a very discounted price for an echocardiogram, orEKG, and a blood test.
And for those who think this might be painful, doctors and patients alike say it isn’t.
It all begins with a prick of the finger to scan blood and check cholesterol and glucose levels.
Too high of a level of cholesterol in your blood means its building up in the walls of your arteries which leads to a heart attack
Too high of a glucose level also shows signs of diabetes.
The echocardiogram machine reads your heart, and within minutes, results are printed out.
Dr. Narasimha Rao, a cardiologist at Desert Regional Medical Center, says most people over the age of 55 need an EKG test to make sure their heart is beating correctly and there are no signs of previous heart attacks or arythmia.
“The whole emphasis is on awareness,” Dr. Rao explains. “If you’re at risk for heart disease or have family history, get tested before symptoms start.”
Those symptoms can be different for men and women.For men, they’ll typically feel chest pains and heart palpitations. Women can feel nausea, dizziness, and sometime chest pain.
Their symptoms usually happen in the late-stages of heart disease.
Desert Regional dietician Bobbie Anderson Says exercise and a healthy low-fat diet is key to heart health.
Lean proteins are turkey, fish tofu, and soy products, she says. And all the veggies you want, of course. Anderson also says to watch how much red meat you eat. The darker the meat, the more bad fat it has in it.
And it’s recommended you get at least 20 minutes of exercise,four days a week or more. The tests cost only $39and take about ten minutes of your time.They’d usually cost about $800.The special runs from February 18th until the end of the month.
To set up an appointment, call Desert Regional Medical Center at 1-866-448-3668.
