Give the Gift of Health This Holiday Season

This holiday season, give the gift of wellness with health screenings from WellStar Health System. Screenings are an excellent way to catch health issues in early stages and WellStar offers heart and lung screenings and colonoscopies that do not require a physician’s referral. 

Cardiac Screenings

A heart screening is a low dose, non-invasive procedure that determines the presence and extent of coronary calcium.  The scan is useful for early detection of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States for men and women.  The heart screening allows for appropriate intervention to take place before the clinical manifestations of coronary artery disease develop.

Heart screenings are a good idea for men and women 40 years of age or older who have at least one of the following risk factors:  history of smoking or tobacco use, family history of heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and/or obesity.  Those not eligible for heart screenings are people with coronary stents in place, those who have previously had a heart attack or cardiac bypass surgery and women who are currently pregnant. WellStar’s Heart Screenings cost $99 per individual and $149 per couple (self-pay price).

WellStar’s Know Your Heart is a preventative program offering a more thorough assessment of the heart.  Know your Heart helps determine one’s risk of heart disease, stroke, carotid artery disease, peripheral artery disease and other serious conditions.   Each Know Your Heart participant receives a personalized report with test results, risk factor education, diet, weight and exercise recommendations.  The program provides two options:  the Basic Risk Assessment ($139, self-pay price) and the Advanced Risk Assessment ($219, self-pay price).  Screenings are available at convenient locations in Austell, Dallas, Douglasville, East Cobb, Hiram, Marietta, Windy Hill and Woodstock. 

Lung Screening

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths in America and 18% of people diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked. Lung screenings are available on a self-referral basis for anyone 50 years of age or older with a history of smoking, secondhand tobacco smoke exposure or exposure to occupational or environmental cancer-causing substances.  A board-certified radiologist specially trained to read these screenings analyzes each scan and results are typically available in one week.  The screenings cost $199 per individual and $299 per couple (self-pay price) and are available in Austell, Douglasville, East Cobb, Hiram, Marietta and Woodstock.

Colonoscopies

Colonoscopies are used for early detection of colorectal cancer.  This procedure is available without a physician’s referral for men and women 50 years old and older.  Colonoscopies are $999 (self-pay price) and are available at locations in Austell, Douglasville, Hiram and Marietta.

Colonoscopies, heart and lung screenings may be qualified Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Arrangement expenses.  To schedule a screening for yourself or a loved one, call 770-956-STAR.