America Is Losing The Battle Against Heart Disease, Our Number One Killer

A stethoscope and heart on the table.


After decades of steady decline, heart disease is coming back with a fervor, and often with fatal consequences.  In 1948, President Harry Truman signed the National Heart Act, establishing the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.  The President also funded the landmark Framingham Heart Study, the world’s longest-running population study of heart disease.  For the next six decades, we were winning the war on heart disease.  Deaths from heart attacks, heart failure, heart rhythm disorders and related conditions fell a whopping 69% between 1950 and 2009.  Lately, however, it has been bad news.  “We’re looking at a crisis in terms of lowering life expectancy for the first time in decades,†cardiologist Sadiya Khan, M.D., told AARP.ORG/BULLETIN (January/February Issue, page 9). Death rates from heart disease for people between the ages of 45-64 rose 8.5% between 2010 and 2020.  More recently, the COVID pandemic has taken its toll on our nation’s hearts.  In 2020 and 2021, heart attack deaths increased by 21% for those 45-64 and 17.9% for those 65 and older.  These are frightening statistics.

America Is Losing The Battle Against Heart Disease, Our Number One Killer

A stethoscope and heart on the table.


After decades of steady decline, heart disease is coming back with a fervor, and often with fatal consequences.  In 1948, President Harry Truman signed the National Heart Act, establishing the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.  The President also funded the landmark Framingham Heart Study, the world’s longest-running population study of heart disease.  For the next six decades, we were winning the war on heart disease.  Deaths from heart attacks, heart failure, heart rhythm disorders and related conditions fell a whopping 69% between 1950 and 2009.  Lately, however, it has been bad news.  “We’re looking at a crisis in terms of lowering life expectancy for the first time in decades,†cardiologist Sadiya Khan, M.D., told AARP.ORG/BULLETIN (January/February Issue, page 9). Death rates from heart disease for people between the ages of 45-64 rose 8.5% between 2010 and 2020.  More recently, the COVID pandemic has taken its toll on our nation’s hearts.  In 2020 and 2021, heart attack deaths increased by 21% for those 45-64 and 17.9% for those 65 and older.  These are frightening statistics.

COVID-19 Remains A Leading Cause Of Death, Especially Among Seniors

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There have been over 200K COVID-19 deaths this year, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of death certificates.  And that number may be low, because other studies have shown that the cause of death in many COVID-19 cases have been blamed on pre-existing conditions.  Most of the deaths are in older people with underlying health conditions and compromised immune systems.  “I don’t think people realize that this is still a big deal,’ the daughter of a man by the name of Mark Pfundheller who died at the age of 66 despite having the vaccine and a booster, told the Wall Street Journal.  About 85% of deaths from COVID_19 through mid-August were among those 65 and older.

Nursing Homes And Assisted Living Hit With COVID-19 Lawsuits

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Now that the pandemic seems to be calming down, a flurry of class action and individual lawsuits accusing nursing homes of not properly protecting its residents from COVID-19 have been filed.  The wrongful-death lawsuits have been spurred by a repeal of liability protections and statutory deadlines to file the suits.  Many nursing homes are claiming that the virus was beyond their control, with staffing shortages, inadequate testing supplies and a lack of masks and other personal protective equipment all contributing to the problem.  “It’s going to be a knock-down-drag-out battle,†said Steven Levin, a partner in Levin & Perconti and one of the many lawyers seeking damages for the families of those who died of COVID-19 while in a facility.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/nursing-homes-face-growing-number-of-lawsuits-from-covid-19-fallout-11649507400

 

Economic Problems About : Life Insurers Now Suffering Due To COVID-19

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There are so many economic problems surrounding us, one of them I hadn’t even thought of recently hit the headlines of The Wall Street Journal : Life Insurers Facing Huge Losses Due to COVID-19 deaths.  Although the increase in losses for last year’s victims of coronavirus were expected, what was not were losses attributable to people who died from something other than COVID-19.  Some medical experts believe that these were due to people not going to the doctor because they feared getting the coronavirus or simply couldn’t get an appointment.  “The losses we are seeing continue to be elevated over 2019 levels due at least in part, we believe, to the pandemic and the existence of either delayed or unavailable healthcare,†Globe Life finance chief Frank Svoboda told analysts and investors.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/rise-in-non-covid-19-deaths-hits-life-insurers-11645576252

 

Nursing Homes Being Hit Hard Again By COVID-19

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The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is hitting the elderly and nursing homes particularly hard, with the highest number of cases ever documented among staff and a near-record number of residents falling ill with the virus.  This, on top of a worker shortage which has hit virtually every industry, has made this particularly difficult to deal with.  For the week ending January 9, there were 32,061 new confirmed COVID-19 cases among nursing home residents, nearly triple the number of cases the week before (6,406), according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-cases-surge-at-nursing-homes-11641924320

 

Monterey, CA Coronavirus Update From A Carmel Caregiver

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There were only 23 new COVID-19 cases reported in Monterey County during the last five days, with just one new death.  Business owners are relieved that we were moved into the Yellow Tier yesterday, which means an increase in capacity for restaurants, gyms, movie theaters, the aquarium, etc.   Bars that do not serve food can reopen outdoors.  Nationwide, the numbers have also moderated significantly.  There were only 17,119 new cases reported today.  Over the past week, there have been only 96,911 new cases.  By comparison, just a couple of weeks ago we were reporting over 75K new cases per day.  Deaths over the past week have been fairly modest at 3,168.  The CDC released data on “breakthrough infections†which are people that get COVID-19 after being vaccinated.  There were only 9,245 breakthrough cases out of more than 95 million fully vaccinated Americans as of April 26.  Studies suggest immunocompromised people or those on medications that interrupt their immune system (such as those on chemo or who have had an organ transplant or are on dialysis) are less likely to be protected by the COVID-19 vaccine. In California, there were 10,114 new cases in the last week, versus 3,348 in just one day on May 14. Deaths over the last week were 356, which is still considered modest.  It sure looks like we are quickly coming out of the woods. Please, if you have not been vaccinated, do so right away!

Monterey, CA Coronavirus Update From A Carmel Caregiver

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There were 61 new cases reported in Monterey County for a total of 43,613, with two new fatalities.  Nationwide, the number of new cases rose by 33,778 to 32.8 million, while deaths rose by 686 to 582,362.  In California, there were 1,592 new cases for a total of 3.8 million, while deaths rose by 31 to 62,362.  Although almost half of the country has been vaccinated, the number of new cases is still disturbing.  Please stay home as much as possible and stay safe.

Monterey, CA Coronavirus Update From A Carmel Caregiver

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There were 62 new cases reported in Monterey County for a total of 43,601, with one new fatality during the same time-frame.  While the number of new cases over the last week rose only slightly, the California Department of Public Health today raised Monterey County’s tier score from 1.9 to 2.6, ensuring we will remain in the Orange Tier for at least two weeks.  Nationwide, the number of new cases rose by 39,124 to 32.8 million, while deaths rose by 650 to 581,676.  In California, there were 1,857 new cases for a total of 3.8 million, while deaths rose by 53 to 62,331.  Although almost half of the country has been vaccinated, the number of new cases is still alarming.  Please stay home as much as possible and stay safe.

Monterey, CA Coronavirus Update From A Carmel Caregiver

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There were 52 new cases reported over the past six days in Monterey County for a total of 43,506, with no new fatalities during the same time-frame.  Over 58% of eligible residents of Monterey County have been vaccinated, compared with nationwide 44.3% of the country has had at least one dose, while 31.6% are fully vaccinated.  According to news reports, the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines may come as a pill or nasal spray, which would make them easier to store and transport.  Nationwide, there were 48,003 new cases, for a cume total of 32,577,379.  Deaths rose by 720 to 578,713.  According to the CDC, California now has the lowest rate in the country of COVID-19 cases per capita, while Monterey has one of the lowest in the state.  In California, there were 1,766 new cases, for a cume total of 3.75 million, while deaths rose by 70 to 62.035.  Please stay home as much as possible and stay safe.