Healthy living in your 50s
General health
- Get an annual well-woman visit
- Get my blood pressure checked
- Eat healthy
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days
- Quit smoking or don’t start
- Limit alcohol use
- Get a seasonal flu shot
- Ask what other shots I need
- Ask about daily aspirin use (55 and older)
- Talk to my doctor about any domestic and interpersonal violence
Reproductive and sexual health
- Choose the right birth control if I still get my period
- Talk to my doctor about when I need a Pap and HPV test
- Talk to my doctor about menopause symptoms
- Talk to my doctor about my risk for sexually transmitted infections and need for screening
- Get an HIV test at least once in my lifetime
Diseases and conditions
- Talk to my doctor about getting my cholesterol checked if I have a family history of heart problems
- Get tested for diabetes if I have blood pressure higher than 135/80
- Talk to my doctor about my family history of cancers
- Get a mammogram every other year
- Get screened for colorectal cancer
- Ask about lung cancer screening if I am a current or past smoker (55 and older)
- Get screened for Hepatitis C if I was born between 1945 and 1965
- Talk to my doctor about getting screened for Hepatitis B
- Talk to my doctor about stress, depression, and other mental health concerns