Preventive care for ages 65 and older

What is preventive care?

Preventive care is the care you get when your doctor assesses your health risks and provides health education counseling, screening tests and immunizations. It is different than when you visit your doctor for a specific concern such as a backache. Preventive care is aimed at keeping you healthy or identifying problems while they are easier to treat.

When to schedule a visit

It is recommended that men and women see their doctor every one to two years for a preventive care visit. Each visit includes a height and weight check, a blood pressure check, preventive counseling, a health risk assessment and any necessary screening tests or immunizations.

Screening tests and immunizations

Men and women

• Blood pressure check: Every two years
• Cholesterol check: Every five years until age 65
• Colorectal cancer screening: Every five years until age 80
• Hearing and vision screening: Beginning at age 75
• Influenza vaccine: Every year
• Pneumococcus vaccine: Once at age 65
• Tetanus-diphtheria booster: Every 10 years
  

Women

• Clinical breast exam: Every year
• Mammogram: Every year until age 75
• Pap test and pelvic exam: Every three years. If regular screening has been done and Paps have been normal, screening may be discontinued after age 65, if the patient wishes.

Lifestyle habits

Advice you followed or ignored about diet, exercise and the use of tobacco is as important now as ever. For example, exercise even for the frail or elderly remains one of the most effective ways to stay vital. Aging should bring a renewed focus on keeping existing health problems from getting worse and maintaining the healthy habits you have developed over the years.