Older & Wiser: April 25, 2005

Fear of Falling

Experiencing a fall is a common problem for many older adults, according to a Scripps Howard News Service story. It is estimated that nearly 33 percent of adults older than 65 and nearly 50 percent of those over age 80 experience a fall every year.

Falls contribute greatly to diminished quality of life for those who have had them. They may cause loss of physical functioning through fractures or severely reduce one’s independence.

Functional limitations and decreases in independence may also be brought about by the fear of falling as well as actually falling. Early studies revealed that older adults who report a fear of falling have poorer balance ability and poorer physical functioning than other older adults who do not report a fear of falling.

Heart failure

More than half a million Americans will be diagnosed with heart failure this year, and the number of people suffering from the syndrome is expected to double during the next few decades as the U.S. population ages, according to a story by ARA Content.

If allowed to progress without treatment, heart failure has a great impact on quality of life and can shorten life expectancy. In the United States, it is the single most frequent cause of hospitalization for people older than 65, and more people die from heart failure than from all forms of cancer combined.

Symptoms of heart failure include:

- Shortness of breath, which can happen even during mild activity.

- Swelling in the feet and legs from fluid retention.

- Cough with frothy sputum.

- Difficulty breathing when lying down.

Inflammation risk

In his book "The Inflammation Syndrome," author Jack Challem says that everyone experiences inflammation at one time or another, and we actually need it to survive. But chronic inflammation is a sign that something has gone seriously awry with your health.

Instead of protecting and healing, chronic inflammation breaks down your body and makes you older and more frail. Increasingly, medical science is recognizing coronary artery disease as an inflammatory disease of the arteries, wrote Dr. Michael Seabaugh. He writes about a promising biomarker – C-reactive protein – that measures the amount of inflammation in our bodies.

While cholesterol testing has traditionally been the main blood screening for coronary artery disease, the CRP test is gaining respect, Seabaugh wrote. It is estimated that up to 30 million Americans have low cholesterol and yet high CRP levels.

Compiled by JOHN O’CONNELL of the Journal Star