Majority of men neglecting doctor visits, putting health at risk

I confess: I don’t go to the doctor unless I’m seriously worried, with the exception of an annual checkup – although the last one was more like a year and a half. It’s amazing how time flies when you’re not being poked and probed. I have a tendency to telescope time and think I was just at the eye doctor’s a few months ago when it’s really been a year. Experts from Men’s Health Magazine claim that over half of adult men are neglecting doctor visits, especially preventive care. I’ll try to do better.

From NY1.com: According to the experts at Men’s Health Magazine, more than half of American men haven’t been to the doctor in the past year, and when they do go it is usually not for preventive care. “Men, in general, don’t like to go the doctor for the same reason they don’t like to ask for directions, which is that they like to feel like they’re autonomous and they don’t want anybody telling them what to do,” says Stephene Perrine, editor-at-large for Men’s Health. There are five key reasons why men should consider getting to a doctor now, Perrine says. The most important may be heart disease, which is the number one killer of all Americans. Men in particular have a greater risk of heart attack, as well. “This year, about a half a million men over the age of 35 are gonna suffer heart attacks and heart disease,” says Perrine. “The most common symptom of heart disease is death. Often we have no clue that we have any sort of heart problem until our first heart attack, and it is often fatal, so it is critical that men are going to the doctor for preventative visits.”
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