Health checks for men 70 and over
The goal is keeping function, not finding as much as possible. A good visit at this age often ends by removing something rather than adding.
Asked at every age, not just yours
- Blood pressure — the cheapest measurement and the one most often skipped
- Weight and waist, recorded over time rather than measured once
- A complete list of medicines and supplements, including anything bought without a prescription
- Any allergies you have had, to medicines and to anything else
- Family history, with the AGE at which relatives were affected — the age is the detail that shifts a schedule
🫀 Heart and metabolic
- Blood pressure lying and standing
- Glucose and kidney function
- Irregular heart rhythm
🎗️ Cancer screening
- Ask which programmes still apply and which have stopped
- PSA is often no longer routinely recommended at this age — ask directly
- A sore that does not heal, unusual bleeding, weight loss
💉 Infection and vaccination
- Seasonal vaccination
- Pneumococcal and shingles vaccination
- Infection may show as confusion rather than fever
🦴 Bones, senses and mobility
- Falls risk, balance and strength
- Vision and hearing
- Walking distance and stairs
🧠 Mental health and lifestyle
- Memory and independence
- Mood and isolation after retirement or bereavement
- Medication review, and ask directly what could be stopped
What changes this list for you
- A fall in the past year
- Weight loss or poor appetite
- A recent hospital stay, or a very long medication list
Any one of these can move a starting point earlier or change how often something is repeated. That is a conversation to have, not something to work out alone.
Questions to take with you
- If we find it, would we act on it
- Which medicines can be stopped
- What keeps me walking independently for longest