You may have never heard of Dave McGillivray, if you are a running enthusiast, you probably have. Dave has been the director of the Boston Marathon since 2001, technical director for 13 years prior and a participant runner since 1972. Dave once ran from Oregon to Massachusetts, on another occasion from Florida to Boston and he’s completed 8-Ironman triathlons. Dave knows running, and since he passes every year’s annual physical exam with flying colors, he is considered by the masses to be a healthy, fit individual.
This past October, Dave started feeling discomfort in the beginning of his routine runs. It would subside and allow him to finish his workout, but would start back up again at the beginning of each session. Although his routine checkup proved fine, as well as blood tests and an EKG, it was not until he underwent a preventive angiogram that his doctors found severe artery and vein blockage and diagnosed him with coronary heart disease.
Dave is still very much alive and is eyeing his 9th Ironman competition in Hawaii this upcoming October, but it is only because of drastic diet and lifestyle changes. Dave learned the lesson that being physically fit does not dictate your overall health.
Dave’s story gives a great example of a common misconception made everyday. Just because you look good on the outside, does not mean you look good on the inside. Droves of people will spend thousands of dollars a year to keep up their gym memberships, carbon fiber street bikes, yoga classes, fad diets and anything else which could possibly give them abs, yet the same people are satisfied with a 100 year old physical exam providing them with a clean bill of health once a year. It seems as though we’ve forgotten what our Mom’s taught us growing up, “It’s what’s inside that counts.”
Fitness is a major component to good overall health, but it is only one piece. Diet, sleep, stress level, family history, your environment and more greatly affect your health, and ignoring the importance of one or more variables can greatly increase your risk for future disease.
If you want to understand your health, you need to take control. True preventive medicine is rarely covered by insurance companies in our country and therefore rarely pursued by individuals. At Carolina HealthSpan Institute, we offer preventive testing for most bodily functions from the most specialized labs in the country. We also offer programs to help you make a healthy life change or get your health back on track. Progress starts with understanding, and understanding starts with the correct preventive testing. Only from there can you achieve optimal health.
If you are willing to pay $20 per specialty group fitness class multiple times a week to stay in shape, shouldn’t you be willing to pay a few hundred once a year to make sure your organs are functioning correctly? There’s no better time than now to take charge of your own health.
For more information about our optimal health programs, please contact us here or give us a call at 704.333.4817.