There’s a common stereotype that men don’t go to the doctor unless their health becomes disruptive. UBNS Chair of Neurosurgery Dr. Elad Levy recently shared his insights into why men sometimes hesitate to seek out medical care, but why it’s so important to monitor health, with News 4 Buffalo.
Levy joined Dave Greber and Kelsey Anderson on the Buffalo Brief podcast to discuss men’s health, and even opened up about his own experience putting off medical care.
Why Do Men Delay Healthcare?
Dr. Levy believes the reasons causing men to avoid regular checkups are mental. He explained during the interview that some men try to ignore health red flags, describing this psyche as not wanting to “open Pandora’s box.” This mindset, he thinks, can be developed while a person is young.
Dr. Levy relates to not scheduling enough checkups. He opened up about wanting to take on as many patients as he could and work long hours after finishing his residency at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, while also exercising and sleeping only a few hours a night. Dr. Levy said he had the mindset to push through problems. After a year, he wound up in the ICU with pneumonia, pancytopenia, and organ failure, with a 50% chance of survival.
More recently, AI has become another possible reason why some men don’t feel the need to go to the doctor. Some people believe they’re receiving all the health insight they need by giving an AI system their bio data. Dr. Levy said that if someone feels searching online helps them, they can, but he emphasized that talking to a doctor can provide a person with metrics that AI cannot.
What Warning Signs Should Not Be Ignored?
Throughout the segment, Dr. Levy highlighted health warning signs that should not be overlooked and can be indicative of a larger problem.
Chronic fatigue, frequent headaches, and shortness of breath after minor activity, like walking up the stairs, can be indicators of underlying health problems. While these symptoms can be attributed to aging or everyday stressors, they can also be early signs of imbalanced cortisol and electrolytes, high cholesterol, and other problems. Health issues like elevated cholesterol can raise blood pressure, potentially leading to cardiovascular events, and imbalanced cortisol can weaken the immune system.
Dr. Levy explained that while certain issues and imbalances might not immediately impact a person’s everyday life, problems can manifest with side effects. He used cortisol as an example; if its levels are off, a person might struggle to sleep, gain weight, and it can eventually lead to more chronic fatigue and, in rare cases, extremes like organ failure.
As a neurosurgeon, Dr. Levy particularly noticed trends with brain health. Combine overlooked health markers with outside factors – like allergens and chemicals – and he sees how that impacts brain health locally.
“What we do have here [in Buffalo] is we are in one of the highest incidents of stroke in the United States,” Dr. Levy said, describing the “stroke belts” in the country. “That's very similar to pockets in the south.”
How Check-Ups Can Spot Problems Before They Manifest
During checkups, doctors can screen blood, perform X-rays, and run other tests to analyze a person’s health. These screenings sometimes reveal problems that don’t yet show noticeable side effects, but may in the future.
Dr. Levy said that these appointments can help mitigate health issues that might develop over time or at an older age if left to linger.
“The best way we can treat patients is prevention and early detection,” he said.
He suggested that people think of these appointments like they would annual car examinations: “This is health maintenance.”
If you would like to learn more, watch the full interview on the News 4 website.
