Questions to Ask Your Health Care Provider

It can be hard to know where to start when thinking about ways to improve your health, especially where talking to a health care professional is concerned. With so much health information available, focusing on what's most important to discuss can feel a little overwhelming. So, we've created a list of "Questions to Ask Your Health Care Professional".

Use some or all of these questions to get the information you need about your health, your risk factors for specific diseases and how to prevent them.

Cholesterol

1. What is my overall risk for heart disease? Can we review my risk factors?
2. Why do I keep hearing about "good" and "bad" cholesterol? What are they?
3. What are triglycerides? What do they have to do with cholesterol?
4. Will you explain the results of my cholesterol test?
5. If I have high LDL cholesterol, what lifestyle and dietary changes can I make to lower it?

Colon Cancer

1. What causes colon cancer?
2. How can I reduce my risk for colon cancer?
3. What are the signs and symptoms of colon cancer?
4. What exams or tests will you do during my regular physical to screen for colon cancer?
5. If I have colon cancer, what tests will you perform to find out what type of cancer I have?

Diabetes

1. Am I at risk for diabetes? What signs and symptoms indicate that I may have diabetes?
2. What type of tests should I have to find out if I have diabetes?
3. What can I do to prevent the disease from developing, if other members of my family have it? If you have already been diagnosed with diabetes ask these questions:
4. What are my "ABC" numbers? A is for A1C (or hemoglobin A1C) test; B is for blood pressure; and C is for cholesterol. What should my "ABC" target numbers be?
5. What effect has diabetes had on my eyes, kidneys, nerves and heart? What tests do I need to monitor these body functions?

High Blood Pressure

1. What does my blood pressure reading mean? Why are there two numbers, and what do they measure?
2. Do I have hypertension (high blood pressure)? Am I at risk for developing it? Why?
3. Am I taking any medicines that could increase my blood pressure? Should I stop taking them?
4. What are the possible consequences of hypertension? How can I limit my risk for hypertension and its complications?
5. What medications are available to help me if I have hypertension? What are their benefits and side effects? Will these drugs interact with any other medications I am taking?

Prostate Health

1. Is my frequent urination related to a problem with my prostate?
2. What treatment options are available?
3. Are prostatitis, BPH and/or prostate cancer preventable?
4. What do my results from a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test mean?
5. I am at risk for prostate cancer?

Testicular Cancer

1. Am I at risk for testicular cancer?
2. Can testicular cancer be prevented?
3. What are the symptoms of testicular cancer?
4. How is testicular cancer diagnosed?
5. How is testicular cancer treated?

Weight Management

1. Do I need to lose/gain weight? How much? What should be my weight goal?
2. Do I have any medical conditions that could affect my weight? Could the medications I am taking affect my weight?
3. What types of health problems are associated with being overweight?
4. Based on my current weight and weight management goals, how many calories a day should I eat?
5. What are the best types of exercise for me? What warning signals should I watch out for while I'm exercising?