Dr. Nuno Liça Pinto

Specialist in Family Medicine

Investing in health

HPA Magazine 24 // 2025

In today’s fast-paced world, we often neglect the one thing that sustains everything else: our health. The Premium Check-Up, available at the HPA Health Group, was created with this in mind - an advanced, convenient, and comprehensive health assessment completed in a single morning. This programme is specially designed for people aged 50 and above, although individuals from the age of 40 can also benefit. Its core mission is to promote early detection of risk factors and silent conditions before they develop into serious illness.
Many life-threatening diseases - cardiovascular, oncological, metabolic - begin without symptoms. While conventional preventive medicine might not always recommend extensive testing in asymptomatic individuals, clinical experience shows that a proactive, structured approach often reveals important information. By identifying subclinical diseases or early markers, patients gain a unique opportunity to take preventive action while there’s still time.

A Single Visit, A Complete Picture
The Check-Up Premium condenses a complete diagnostic battery into one morning, ensuring both convenience and a comprehensive overview of one’s health. Each component is carefully selected to evaluate the body from head to toe:
• Brain and Vascular Imaging: Cranial MRI with angiography to detect possible brain and vascular abnormalities.
• Carotid Doppler Ultrasound: Assesses for arterial stenosis or plaque build-up - critical for stroke prevention.
• Thoracic CT: Offers a high-resolution image of the lungs, pleura, and thoracic organs, ideal for identifying early pulmonary or oncological issues.
• Abdominal MRI and Ultrasound: Evaluates liver, kidneys, pancreas, intestines, and reproductive organs.
• Gender-specific screening:
Women: Mammography and breast ultrasound for early breast cancer detection.
Men: Prostate ultrasound and PSA testing to screen for prostate disease.
• Cardiac Assessment:
Resting electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram, and treadmill stress test for a full cardiovascular evaluation.
Coronary calcium score and coronary CT angiography to measure arterial plaque and visualise coronary arteries.
• Blood Tests: A full panel including liver and kidney function, lipid profile, glucose levels, and other metabolic markers.
This holistic approach allows the detection of frequent but silent conditions like hypertension, diabetes, fatty liver, kidney dysfunction, or early tumours - before symptoms arise. And all of it happens with minimal disruption to your routine.

A Personalised Closing Touch:
The Final Medical Evaluation
After all the tests are completed, the experience culminates in a final medical consultation with a seasoned Family Medicine specialist - someone with over a decade of experience in comprehensive preventive assessments.
This is far more than a simple review of reports. The consultation is a moment of clarity and reassurance: a time when results are explained in plain language, doubts are addressed, and a future health strategy is outlined. The specialist helps connect the dots between findings, lifestyle, and personal history, crafting a plan that makes sense for each person’s health goals.
Whether the outcome is a clean bill of health or the discovery of issues that require follow-up, the guidance is swift and personalised. If any further care is needed, referrals are made with priority and efficiency, ensuring nothing is left to chance.
What defines this final step is human connection. The doctor listens. Understands. And empowers. It’s this personal attention - backed by medical rigour - that transforms data into action and turns a check-up into a health plan.
Ultimately, the Check-Up Premium isn’t just about screening - it’s about reassurance, preparation, and taking charge of your future. It’s healthcare designed around you.