MetroSouth Medical Center’s summer campaign, entitled Tune-Up Time for Dads: Keeping the Man in Your Life Healthy is designed to heighten the awareness that men are significantly less diligent about routinely visiting their Family Medicine physician.  In fact, a recent study demonstrated that men in the United States have annual exams 24% less frequently than women, but are at increased risk of being hospitalized for preventable conditions.

As part of the Tune-Up campaign, the MetroSouth Family Medicine physicians, including Dr. Kim Gray-White, want to educate men in Chicago’s Southland about the types of conditions that routine screenings can detect.  One of the deadliest of these is abdominal aortic aneurysms.  An aortic aneurysm is a “blister” on the wall of the aorta, the main artery of the chest and abdomen.  This blister or aneurysm can form because of a progressive weakening of the aortic wall which results in a “ballooning” of the vessel.  If these aneurysms go undetected and untreated, they can be deadly.  In fact, abdominal aneurysms are the 13th leading cause of death in the United States, killing more than 15,000 people each year.  More than 50% of patients who experience a ruptured aortic aneurysm do not survive.

Consequently, early detection of this condition is critical.  Specific known risk factors allow family medicine physicians to appropriately screen for aortic aneurysms.  Men are at four times higher risk for developing these than women, and 75% of aortic aneurysms are found in patients who have smoked at some point during their lifetime.  Aortic aneurysms are easy to detect with a non-invasive ultrasound screening that is covered by Medicare and is recommended for men between the ages of 65-75 who have never smoked. 

Dr. Kim Gray-White, who sees patients at the MetroSouth clinic in Morgan Park, urges everyone to understand the risks that undetected aortic aneurysms can present to their fathers, grandfathers, uncles and other men in their lives.  If you know of a man who has every smoked – even if they don’t smoke today – and is between 65 and 75 years of age, get them to a qualified physician for the routine ultrasound screening. 

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Gray-White, or another MetroSouth Family Medicine physician in Morgan Park, South Holland, Blue Island or Alsip, call 708 489-7925.  All men visiting a MetroSouth Family Medicine physician before Labor Day will receive a free gift as well as a men’s health screening organizational tool which can be used for years to come.