The title of this blog is a popular google search.

But if we don’t know about the leaks… well… then we don’t know about them.

However, we do know that deferred treatment is very common, especially with cardiac issues. Approximately 2.5% of US adults have some form of heart valve problem (stenosis, regurgitation, prolapse), and there are various treatment-delay statistics floating around. For example, of the senior adults (median age 77yrs) who have valvular stenosis, 14% of them do not get it repaired within one year.¹

Valvular issues can be serious, but often, they just reduce quality of life rather than threatening to take it away completely. Many health conditions exist in that nebulous mental space: “Well, I ought to get this fixed, but it’s not really urgent, so I’ll get around to it.”

So what about more critical conditions? A bystander might assume that people would be more proactive if their life was threatened, but the opposite is frequently true. One study revealed that 17% of patients with rectal tumors waited a full year after noticing symptoms before seeking any sort of medical consultation, with a smaller number waiting up to 5 years.²

Yes, you read that correctly. Five years. For cancer.

We could attribute this reticence to the pace of modern life or to “white coat syndrome” (general fear of going to the doctor), but as usual, practical concerns are more likely to blame.

And by “practical,” of course, I mean “financial.”

Over the last few years, prices on everything have skyrocketed, including medical care, and yes, there are dismal statistics for this as well: one study found that 38% of Americans delayed medical treatments because of cost, which is a 41% increase from just two years ago.³

So what should we do?

Well, there’s only one thing we can do. The author of this blog was recently in his PCP’s office, and when I complained about the price of a treatment, the doctor shrugged wearily and said, “Pay for it now, or pay for it later. And it’s always more expensive later.”

I didn’t like that, but I couldn’t argue.

Allowing a problem to worsen never makes it cheaper, which is why Transonic is the only company on earth who hopes you don’t need their products. They even let their blogger write pieces like this one to encourage you away from the health problems that might bring our devices into play.

If it hurts, go to the doctor. If you have worries, voice them. If it won’t go away, find out why.

We build flow probes and meters for cardiac surgery (and now the first three paragraphs are starting to make sense!) but as long as you’re proactive with your health, you’ll hopefully never need them.

Medical treatment is expensive today.

But that doesn’t hold a candle to how expensive it might be tomorrow.

Thanks for reading,

            Transonic Systems, Inc

                               The Measure of Better Results

References:

1. Leaky Heart Valve Life Expectancy: What You Need to Know
2. Psychological factors related to delay in consultation for cancer symptoms - PubMed
3. Insured but skipping care: 38% of Americans delay treatment over costs, study finds - Medical Economics