As we ring in 2025, many people will take advantage of the New Year to embrace new habits and a healthier lifestyle. We generally have all the best intentions to maintain or achieve wellness, but it can be daunting to know where to start.
Novant Health encourages you to start small: Review what screenings you are due for, based on your age, gender, and risk factors.
Start by making an appointment with your primary care physician. He or she is likely able to check off many basic health screenings in a quick office visit.
MEN’S HEALTH
“All men ages 55 to 69 should have a PSA screening annually,” said Eric Gwynn, M.D. with New River Urology in Bluffton. PSA is a protein produced by the prostate gland, he explained, and a prostate-specific antigen blood test is the most common way to screen for prostate cancer. “These annual screenings can help us catch any signs of prostate cancer early and treat it as soon as possible.”
However, Dr. Gwynn advises for some men to book these screenings yearly even earlier in their lives. Men at a higher risk of prostate cancer should begin annual PSA screenings in their 40s. High risk factors include having a family history of prostate cancer and being of African American descent.
“As men age, they should not ignore urinary symptoms such as slower flow, urinary frequency, urinating frequently during the night, and urinary incontinence,” Dr. Gwynn said. “Don’t hesitate to see your doctor if you begin having urinary problems.”
Coastal Carolina Hospital is a urology-focused medical center offering some of the latest advancements in minimally invasive surgical equipment to diagnose, manage, and treat any urological condition.
As men get older, their prostates enlarge. That growth can cause problems in as many as 33% of men 65 and older, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. In 2024, Coastal Carolina became one of the first hospitals in the country to offer HYDROS Aquablation therapy, a minimally invasive treatment option Dr. Gwynn and his team now offer for enlarged prostate.
WOMEN’S HEALTH
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists now recommend that women ages 21 to 29 get a Pap test every three years. After 30, the guidelines have relaxed to exams between three and five years. Women ages 30-65 can have a Pap test and an HPV test every three to five years, depending on your doctor’s advice. Some women may stop having cervical cancer screening after age 65 if they do not have a history of abnormal cervical cells or cervical cancer, for example.
Even women who have had a hysterectomy might need cervical cancer screening.
Dr. Erica Downey with Riverside Women’s Care in Bluffton encourages women to start the year by booking their annual wellness exam. “Make sure to prioritize yourself,” she said. “As women, we often put everyone else before ourselves. I would encourage you to make the effort to make yourself a priority. Keep up with your annual screenings, don’t ignore symptoms that might be bothering you, and prioritize setting aside time for self-care.”
Don’t be embarrassed or discouraged if you’ve skipped exams or haven’t had screenings in a long time – or ever. Now is the time to own your own health, Dr. Downey said.
All women over the age of 40 should get a mammogram yearly. Women with an increased risk of breast cancer should ask their doctor about what age to start mammograms and how often. Risk factors include family history, genetic mutations, high-risk breast lesion of previous biopsies, and being a breast cancer survivor.
Women with dense breast tissue may need additional screening to rule out cancer.
HEART HEALTH
Every year, more than 800,000 Americans have a heart attack, many of them preventable with basic lifestyle changes.
Building new habits starts with baby steps, said interventional cardiologist Dr. Timothy Alikakos of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery in Hilton Head.
The first step? Get outside.
“You don’t need to go out and run a marathon,” Dr. Alikakos said. “Getting outside and taking a walk for a half-hour a day has a ton of benefits. Exercising improves the efficiency of the heart to get the blood where it needs to go. But you have to constantly push it over the long term.”
That means starting slowly and introducing consistent exercise to your day as you build up to a goal, like a 5K or a pickleball tournament.
“When you have something you’re prepping for, you have structure. But we should all commit to at least a half-hour a day, three days a week, which can help you burn several thousand more calories and manage your weight,” Dr. Alikakos said. “Plus, the adrenaline surge gets you feeling better and improves your outlook and your fitness. Best of all, it gets our patients outside and forces them to push themselves.”
When it comes to your overall cardiovascular fitness over the long term, even a little bit counts. “Just do it. Push yourself. It doesn’t matter how much you’re going to do, as long as you get outside and do it,” Dr. Alikakos said.
He said the patients who are often most surprised with their results are those in the health system’s cardiac rehab programs. They realize they don’t need to do that much to give themselves that bump and reap that benefit.
