Personal health monitoring at home is becoming popular with older adults with a focus on prevention and being proactive. More seniors are becoming proactive as far as creating their own home health monitoring cubicle, desk, or table where they can monitor their own health at home to save medical expenses. What they're monitoring is their temperature, blood pressure, pulse, weight, percentage of oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, and rhythm strip EKG. And they're buying these appliances and devices for monitoring their health online at sites such as Amazon.com.
An iSpO2 pulse oximeter drew attention when it appeared on display at a press event at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center for the 2013 International CES on January 6, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The new USD 249 personal health monitor attaches to the user's mobile device that can record, save and transmit vital statistics to an individual's health care professional or to a hospital or laboratory.
Some seniors start off with the oximeter that goes over your finger tip to measure the oxygen saturation of your bloodstream. The clue to look for is if the number goes down, you could be forming clots that are going into your lung. This is called pulmonary embolism. If you can see the number going down, you can prevent being blindsided by a sudden clot landing in your lungs, and at least have time to get to a hospital to ask for medicine to dissolve the clot before it fells you, starts a heart attack, or a stroke.
You don't want to find out too late that your body starts throwing clots into your lungs creating a pulmonary embolism. If your doctor can't see you or is out of the office, at least you know those numbers of oxygen saturation going down means trouble, and you can get to a hospital emergency room and ask to be tested for pulmonary embolism or a blood clot somewhere that is preventing oxygen from getting into your blood or some other diagnosis causing your oxygen saturation blood level to descend. It could save your life of that of a loved one. The oximeter also measures your heart rate.
Some doctors say that if your pulse resting rate is more than 80, it's bad. Your heart may be in trouble or arrhythmia is beginning. Or you have a fever. Or white coat fever, a sudden pang of fear and anxiety upon seeing your resting heart rate and worrying about it. Check out the reason why your resting heart rate is constantly too fast by getting tested.
Your first step in protecting your health as you age is to monitor your health signs. That's why putting together a home clinic is like keeping a first aid kit in the house. It alerts you when you need to see a professional, go to the emergency room, or get tested. A blood pressure monitor also should be in your home clinic cubicle or table. Some doctors say your blood pressure should stay below 135-110/80-65 to minimize stress to your heart and blood vessels. Be aware of what's happening in your body and start collecting the devices needed to create your own clinic.
The purpose is to warn you when you need to see a doctor and get checked out or when you have to get to the emergency room and find out if there's a clot forming or lodged where it shouldn't be so you can get it dissolved. You can read a lot more about health tips on how to protect yourself from reversing plaque to information about medicines and supplements. Check out the February 13, 2013 issue of Dr. Sherry Rogers' Total Wellness newsletter. See the site, Sherry Rogers MD and some of the doctor's related book titles.
Why are so many Americans predicted to get Alzheimer's disease in the next 40 years?
Another point seniors need to know is why there are so many predictions in the news that the number of Americans afflicted with Alzheimer's disease could triple within the next 40 years if no progress is made against the disease, according to new projections. Check out the latest news articles, "Alzheimer's cases, and costs, projected to swell," and "Dementia risk greater for out-of-shape middle-aged adults, says study."
But male caregivers are suffering more discrimination at work caring for dementia patients and others with mental and memory issues or physical disabilities of such nature where they can't report issues or conflicts with their caregivers, according to the February 6, 2013 Health Day news article, "More male caregivers, more discrimination at work."
As baby boomers enter their golden years, the number of people afflicted with Alzheimer's disease is expected to reach 13.8 million by 2050 — millions more than previously anticipated, according to a new study in the journal Neurology. New research focuses on physical exercise rather than an emphasis on getting people to change their diets. See, Number of Americans With Alzheimer's May Triple by 2050.
Maintaining physical fitness through middle age could go a long way in staving off dementia, new research suggests. The study, published February 4, 2013 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, and reporting in the Feb. 6 online issue of the journal Neurology, researchers say that by 2050, nearly 14 million Americans could have Alzheimer's -- the most common form of dementia.
Only three years ago, the prevalence of Alzheimer's in 2010, an estimated 4.7 million U.S. adults had the disease. Is the study more about middle-aged baby boomers who were in shape were significantly less likely to develop dementia? The new prediction is an update of a report published a decade ago -- which also projected a near-tripling in Alzheimer's disease in the next few decades.
Why hasn't progress been made since 2002?
Could the reason be that dietary changes haven't been studied too much as far as preventing dementia, if diet is in any way related? Former studies on turmeric and other spices seem to be ignored by mainstream media and drugs emphasized. There are several drugs approved in the United States for slowing memory loss and other Alzheimer's symptoms -- brands like Aricept and Namenda. The medications work by affecting chemical messengers in the brain. But for many people, they either do not help or only work for a limited time.
Then there are the experimental "anti-amyloid" drugs, which target a protein that builds up and forms so-called plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. But in studies so far, the medications have failed to help when given to people who already have moderate dementia symptoms. The new research emphasizes that the drugs might work if given earlier in the disease. Check out the book, The Alzheimer's Action Plan | Amazon.com.
Three clinical trials start this year focusing on prevention
Three major clinical trials are starting this year, all looking at prevention in some way, but the focus is on drug treatment testing for people with gene mutations that cause inherited, early-onset Alzheimer's. Another study is with seniors who have no dementia symptoms but do have amyloid deposits in their brains. But none of those studies focus on plant extracts, spices, nutrition or other natural solutions. All of those studies are looking at anti-amyloid drugs. The latest theory is that amyloid plaques are the root cause of dementia symptoms in Alzheimer's, but that's not a certainty.
Even though you don't find news in mainstream media focusing on nutrition-based preventions, you do have one trial focuses on whether supervised exercise can ward off or delay dementia in older adults with mild cognitive [mental] impairment -- less serious problems with memory and thinking that can eventually progress to Alzheimer's.
The latest findings are based on a long-term study of 10,800 older adults from Chicago who were evaluated for dementia. During a 13 -year period of time, 402 people were diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The U.S. Census data were used in that study to extrapolate the findings to the whole population.
They estimate that, barring major research advances, 13.8 million Americans will have Alzheimer's in 2050 -- including 7 million people aged 85 or older. Will the estimate happen? Only time will say for sure. Meanwhile, exercise and drugs are the focus rather than foods, spices, or plant extracts such as curcumin are touted in mainstream media news articles on the topic.
On the other hand, if the same risk factors for heart disease -- such as high blood pressure and diabetes -- might also be linked to Alzheimer's risk, than older adults ask whether might nutrition play a role as they play a role in reversing clogged arteries? Prevention needs to be emphasized in clinical trials. And signs of future dementia may start in middle age people rather than focusing only on seniors.
In the meantime, the news in the mainstream media isn't telling anyone what to do to prevent Alzheimer's disease. You find articles on exercise, healthy diets, and staying active, but no one yet is saying whether it reduces risk. On the other hand, you do have various physicians coming out with books published on the topic such as various books on anti-Alzheimer's diets.
See the sites, The Anti-Alzheimer's Diet | AARP.org, and the book, The Anti-Alzheimer's Prescription: The Science-Proven Prevention Plan to Start at Any Age. The book's author is a physician, a world-renowned neurologist. Check out the various books on this subject. Also see the book, Curcumin: The 21st Century Cure by Jan McBarron M.D. (Sep 19, 2012). Or check out the article, Curry power: an age-old seasoning could help combat Alzheimer's.: An article from: Science News by Patrick Barry (Oct 3, 2007).
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