Monterey, CA Tips For Warding Off Alzheimer’s Disease

A purple background with the alzheimer 's association logo.


Regular readers of my blog know that both my father and my grandfather had Alzheimer’s disease when they passed away.  It’s a terrible disease for which there is no cure.  However, there are ways that you can try and keep the disease at bay including:

  1. Protect your heart – Four major risk factors directly relate to heart health: high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and smoking.  Work towards keeping blood pressure and cholesterol low by eating a healthy diet.
  2. Exercise – According to Dr. Richard Isaacson, this can be the brain’s first defense against amyloid plaque. Try and get at least thirty minutes of exercise per day.
  3. Stay Socially and mentally active – Getting together with family and friends can be difficult during the COVID pandemic, but getting social stimulation is important, even if you have to do it over a zoom call.
  4. Avoid head injury – This is easier said than done, but studies have found that even mild head trauma can result in dementia. Wear a seatbelt, play sports safely and treat any head injury immediately.
  5. Treat depression, hearing loss, and substance abuse – Excessive alcohol consumption, hearing loss and depression all increase the risk for dementia.

Source: American Brain Foundation and Brain Life, the Academy of Neurology’s patient and caregiver magazine and website.

 

If you or a family member are struggling with Alzheimer’s disease or some other type of dementia, go talk to the good folks at the Alzheimer’s Association’s Monterey Chapter in Ryan Ranch.  They also have a 24-hour hotline you can call at 1800-272-3900.

High Heart Rate May Signal High Risk Of Alzheimer’s Disease Or Dementia

A man in a wheelchair with a woman wearing gloves.


A new study out of Sweden found that checking a senior’s resting heart rate may help identify those who are more likely to experience a decline in mental function. On average, those with a resting heart rate of 80 beats or more per minute had an average 55% higher risk of dementia than those with a heart rate of 60 to 69 beats per minute. “We believe it would be valuable to explore if resting heart rate could identify patients with high dementia risk,†said Dr. Yume Imahori, lead author of the study from the Aging Research Center at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. He believes that early intervention may help delay the onset of dementia which can have a substantial impact on their quality of life.

https://consumer.healthday.com/b-12-6-high-heart-rate-linked-to-dementia-risk-2655910490.html?WT.mc_id=enews2021_12_08&utm_source=enews-aff-20&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=enews-2021-12-08&utm_content=homeoffice&utm_term=Story2

 

Senior Obesity A Big Problem For Seniors

A person measuring their belly with a tape measure.


Obesity is a big problem in America, with 74% of the population overweight.  As you grow older, you likely will become more sedentary which can result in senior obesity.  This can create a domino effect of health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and a high risk of stroke.  Lisa Young, a registered dietitian nutritionist and the author of “Finally Full, Finally Slim†recently gave a speech at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo has a number of tips to help you keep the weight off.  One of the more helpful ones is “Mindful eating is a tool to help with weight loss.  It helps you focus on your hunger and fullness levels, so you are eating because you are hungry, and you want that food – not because a big portion is in front of you.â€Â  Mindful or Intuitive eating can also help you ask yourself, “Do I like this food†or “Am I really hungry?’  This ultimately helps you eat a smaller portion and can lead to weight loss.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/10/health/lose-weight-healthfully-mindful-eating-wellness/index.html

Exercise Is Extremely Important For Seniors

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At Family inHome Caregiving, we always encourage our clients to have good nutrition, plenty of social interaction and exercise to help them live a healthier and longer life..  Everyone is different, and not all seniors can tolerate a lot of exercise, but try the best that you can.  One simple way is just walking more.  There are all kinds of devices that can track how many steps you take each day, with 10,000 a goal.  But start easy by walking around the block and you can work your way up to this.  Walking at a constantly brisk rate can also get your heart rate up.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to estimate your maximum age-related heart rate, subtract your age from 220 and this is the maximum beats per minute.  The American College of Sports Medicine recommends for moderate-intensity physical activity at 64% to 76% of your maximum heart rate (Source CNN.com).

A-Fib Help Without Using Blood Thinners

A person holding a stethoscope in their hand.


Blood thinners are used by seniors for a variety of ailments.  However, they can be an issue if you have a fall or need to have emergency surgery as they can cause excessive bleeding.  Some people are turning to a new treatment for A-Fib which is an implant that seals off a fingertip-size pouch on the heart.  During A-Fib, blood can pool in the pouch, clot and travel to the brain, Robert Hauser M.D., who sketched the Watchman’s initial design, told AARP The Magazine (October/November 2021 Issue, page 54).  Surgeons implant the device by threading it through blood vessels.  An analysis of more than 36K people who have had the device implanted since it debuted in 2015 found that it reduced the risk of stroke by 70% and made the use of the blood thinner warfarin necessary.

CHOMP Shuts Down Cardiac Procedure Lab Temporarily : By Derek Baine, Monterey, CA

A large fountain in the middle of an indoor area.


There have been labor shortages all across the country but most of the focus has been on the inability to hire unskilled labor.  However, Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP) has just announced that it has temporarily shut down its cardiac procedure laboratory because an important position is now vacant.  They are searching for a lab coordinator position which is a highly skilled nurse who manages the care of patients who are undergoing specific procedures in the lab.  The state-of-the-art lab was opened just two years ago.  It’s unclear if this is related to another recent report that CHOMP and other hospitals in the county are facing a severe labor shortage due to employees refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

 

https://www.montereyherald.com/2021/09/23/community-hospital-of-the-monterey-peninsula-temporarily-shuts-down-cardiac-lab/?utm_email=7404B4F5358244C5647B14D271&g2i_eui=B5dv00xjia5jtX%2fZFTuOn45qYHnjNzVq&g2i_source=newsletter&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=https%3a%2f%2fwww.montereyherald.com%2f2021%2f09%2f23%2fcommunity-hospital-of-the-monterey-peninsula-temporarily-shuts-down-cardiac-lab%2f&utm_campaign=norcal-monterey-morning-report&utm_content=automated

 

Start Up Cleerly Aims To Shake Up Heart Disease Treatment In The U.S. : By Derek Baine

A stethoscope and heart on the table.


650K Americans will die from heart disease this year, and more than half of them—roughly 490K—won’t have seen it coming.  That’s because about 60% of people who have a heart attack have no prior symptoms.  Dr. James Min, a cardiologist, is hoping to change these statistics at his start-up Cleerly, which will use machine learning to help doctors personalize heart disease treatment plans before patients end up in the ER.  He calls his company’s approach â€precision prevention.â€Â  Dr Min says that the market opportunity is massive, with more than 100 million Americans at risk of having a heart attack.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiejennings/2021/06/21/this-ai-startup-raised-43-million-to-save-lives-and-money-by-treating-heart-disease-earlier/?cdlcid=607e1442fe2c195e916f3bb4&utm_campaign=dailydozen&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&sh=2f1977e859bd

 

Healthy Heart Tips For Seniors From AARP : By Derek Baine

A doctor and patient looking at a book


AARP.org has some great tips for keeping your heart healthy, starting with the simple advice to brush and floss regularly.  Swollen or bleeding gums can lead to microorganisms traveling into the bloodstream, which can cause inflammation and heart damage.  Older adults who skimped on oral hygiene were 20 to 35 percent more likely to die during a 17-year study done by  University of Southern California researchers.  Also, doing 10 minutes of resistance training each morning can go a long way.  In a study which was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, women (average age of 62) who did just 20 to 59 minutes of muscle-strengthening exercises each week were 29% less likely to die during a 12-year study than those who did none.  There are also simple alterations that you can do to your diet which will help a lot.  For instance, try replacing half the butter in your baking recipes with mashed avocado.  Replacing saturated fats with MUFAs can help lower LDL (bad cholesterol).  Try eating more bananas!  A diet rich in potassium can help offset some of sodium’s harmful effects on blood pressure.  (AARP Bulletin Volume 62, Number 4, Page 13).

DASH Diet Cuts Heart Damage, According To New Study : By Derek Baine

A stethoscope and heart on the table.


A study which was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that the popular “DASH†diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) reduces heart stress and damage which often results in heart disease.  The diet emphasizes consuming fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, as well as shole grains, poultry, fish and nuts.  This sounds similar to

the Mediterranean diet, with a focus on avoiding red meat.  The Mayo Clinic says that the diet encourages the reduction of sodium and is a “lifelong approach to healthy eating that’s designed to help treat or prevent high blood pressure.â€Â  Another study which was done by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard Medical School found that it reduced cholesterol and blood pressure and lowers damage to cardiac heart muscles.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-/2021/06/01/dash-diet-reduces-heart-damage-stress-study-shows/7468363002/

Senior News : Average American Life Expectancy Dropped By An Entire Year

An older woman with a gray hair sitting in front of trees.


The pandemic cut the U.S. life expectancy by a full year in the first half of 2020, reflecting the toll taken by COVID-19 as well as a rise in deaths from drug overdoses, heart attacks and diseases and side-effects caused by the coronavirus.  The last time there was a drop this dramatic was during World War II.  It’s a huge step backwards.  Americans now have the same life expectancy as they did in 2006, according to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Black and Latinos were hit the hardest, with 2.7 years shaved off of the life expectancy of Black Americans, 1.9 years off of Latino Americans and 0.8 years off of White Americas.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/life-expectancy-covid-us/2021/02/17/ae9b71fe-713c-11eb-93be-c10813e358a2_story.html