The idea of a 'routine checkup' is an American thing as far as I can tell. I've lived in the UK and New Zealand and adults only go to the doctor when there's something wrong, or if you have known chronic conditions. You certainly don't have regular blood tests.

How do they catch things like kidney disease early? I have stage four kidney disease and there are barely any symptoms. Stage five means dialysis. For me it is too late to properly fix it but if caught early with regular blood tests there are ways to slow it down. My feeling is regular blood tests are a necessity for many health issues.

I had a kidney disease while in puberty, specifically nephritis. Since then, I take a blood test every six months. It's a great habit because it can catch a lot of problems, for example diabetes, cholesterol levels, etc. Urinary tests are also very good because they can detect stones in your kidneys.

Isn't that rather expensive?

A standard set of the most common 25 or so blood tests costs total $50 in the US. You can get it ordered online and go to a local lab to get it tested. They will post the results online and note if anything is out of range.

Where I live (Greece), it's like 40 euros.

You can get a checkup every two years when you're 40+ (paid for by your health insurance). Also skin cancer screening.

Yes, that is how I remember it as well.

Most decent insurance plans will fully cover the cost of a routine checkup, or at least only charge you a minimal co-payment. (They don't want to pay for a hospital visit for you any more than you want to have one.)

I'm no doctor, so I'm the wrong person to ask about how often you should see one. But if it's been five years, it's probably time.

"Wellness visits" under Obamacare are supposed to be covered in full, with no co-pay, but exactly what counts as a wellness visit (and not an office visit) is (probably intentionally) confusing.

https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/12/10/confusion-su...

In Canada annual checkups by your GP are free. If needed, blood tests, x-rays, CT, MRI, whatever, free.

'If needed' is slippery slope. I had multiple visits to NHS with chest pain and got nothing but a blood check. I still don't know whats wrong with me, but its not looking good.

Part of what they're looking for is likely the chemical signs of a heart attack - if heart muscle is dying off, it's generally detectable in the blood. I suspect part of what they were looking for is BNP: "When your heart is damaged, your body secretes high levels of BNP into your bloodstream to try to ease the strain on your heart." (http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/...)