Abstract
Although cancer is the leading cause of death in Japan, if cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, the 2 forms of atherosclerotic diseases, are added together, their proportion of all causes of death is comparable to that of cancer. Thus, a major objective of Ningen Dock check-ups and routine medical care is prevention of cancer and atherosclerosis but it remains unclear which examinations should be the basic ones performed. The revised health check-up evaluation guidelines published in 2008 set forth a tentative plan for the performance atherosclerosis-related check-ups and its major intent was to firmly establish atherosclerosis-related examinations as basic ones in Ningen Dock health check-ups. Emphasis was placed on the feasibility of adopting individual examinations nationwide in consideration of whether sufficient evidence was available as well as differences in accuracy of equipment and procedures among facilities, the time taken for exams and their cost.
Regarding examinations that should be available for atherosclerosis prevention, the possibility of using the self-paid medical treatment system should be considered and the fact that most optional health check-up examinations are currently performed with local government support or under corporate welfare plans should also be taken into account.
The present review outlines recent trends in examinations thought to be useful for atherosclerosis prevention as well as studies that have been performed at our facility on them, with the focus on those that investigate vascular function and morphological changes. It also looks at biomarker tests that evaluate atherosclerotic risk in these regards.
