Blessing Health to offer no-cost health screening at Horizons on Monday

QUINCY — No-cost diabetes-related blood tests and blood pressure screenings will be available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, April 10, at Horizons, 224 S. Eighth, in partnership with Blessing Health. Registration and fasting are not required.

The A1C test helps to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes. Its results also help patients and their healthcare providers manage the disease. High blood pressure is twice as frequent in people with diabetes compared with those who do not have diabetes.

Diabetes occurs when the body is either not producing or not properly using the insulin it naturally produces. That leads to organ-damaging high levels of blood sugar contributing to heart, kidney, vision and circulatory problems. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.

It is estimated that 1 in 10 Americans, or 37 million people, have diabetes, but one out of five of them don’t know they have the disease because they often don’t notice symptoms in early stages of diabetes.

People living with diabetes, or who are at higher than average risk for developing the disease due to family history, race or other factors, could benefit from the screening.

Risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, include:

• Being black
• Being 45 years or older
• Having a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes
• Being overweight
• Being physically active less than three times a week