Study Says Five Healthy Habits Cut Heart Risk in Half

Seniors who follow five simple healthy behaviors could cut their risk of heart failure in half, according to a large, multi-year study recently published in JACC: Heart Failure.

Adults who walked briskly, were moderately active in their leisure time, drank moderately, didn't smoke and avoided obesity had half the risk of heart failure as adults who did not optimize these modifiable risk factors, according to this study that followed nearly 4,500 adults for two decades. 

 

Heart failure, a condition where the heart fails to pump as much blood as the body needs, is reportedly increasing in frequency in the United States and a leading cause of hospitalization for people over age 65.

Liana C. Del Gobbo, Ph.D., from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, led this study’s team of researchers who followed 4,490 men and women age 65 and older who didn't initially have signs of heart failure for up to 21.5 years. 

Researchers tracked their diet, walking habits, leisure activity, exercise intensity, alcohol use, smoking status, weight, height, waist circumference and heart health through questionnaires and physical exams throughout the study period. During the study, 1,380 heart failure cases occurred.

Researchers found that adults who walked at a pace of at least 2 miles per hour had a lower risk of developing heart failure. Reduced rates of heart failure were also associated with participating in leisure activities that burned more than 845 or more calories a week, not smoking, modest alcohol intake (not more than 1-2 drinks/day), and avoiding obesity. 

To learn more about the research, visit http://www.acc.org/about-acc/press-releases/2015/07/06/14/17/lifestyle-factors-associated-with-less-heart-failure-after-65?w_nav=TI.  

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Balance Problems Could Be Warning Sign

A new study that finds seniors – average age 67 – who have trouble balancing on one leg for at least 20 seconds may have increased risk of small blood vessel damage in the brain – stroke – and reduced cognitive ability. The research included healthy older people with no clinical symptoms, according to the report in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke.

 

“Our study found that the ability to balance on one leg is an important test for brain health,” said Yasuharu Tabara, Ph.D., lead study author and associate professor at the Center for Genomic Medicine at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in Kyoto, Japan. “Individuals showing poor balance on one leg should receive increased attention, as this may indicate an increased risk for brain disease and cognitive decline.” 

The study consisted of 841 women and 546 men. To measure one-leg standing time, participants stood with their eyes open and raised one leg. The maximum time for keeping the leg raised was 60 seconds.

Participants performed this examination twice and the better of the two times was used in the study analysis. Cerebral small vessel disease was evaluated using brain magnetic resonance imaging.

Researchers found that the inability to balance on one leg for longer than 20 seconds was associated with cerebral small vessel disease and the potential for strokes. 

To reduce your risk of falls, be sure your home is not a safety trap. Go to MakingHomeSaferforSeniors.com for a home safety tour and checklist that can alert you to the potential safety hazards in your home.

 

For more about the study, visit http://blog.heart.org/ability-balance-one-leg-may-reflect-brain-health-stroke-risk/.

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Five Fixes Under $500

Home Instead Senior Care and Dan Bawden, founder of the Certified Aging in Place Specialists (CAPS) designation for the National Association of Home Builders, offer the following safety suggestions for budget-conscious families:

Fix #1: Install Grab Bars on Walls Near the Shower or Tub

Seniors could be tempted to grab onto an unsecured towel bar or shower curtain and put themselves at risk for falls. Cost: typically $30 to $60 for a good quality bar. With a pro's help, cost could reach $175 to $200 per bar parts and labor. 

Fix #2: Convert to Lever Handle Faucets

Water flow and temperature could be easier for arthritic fingers to control with a lever faucet. Cost: usually between $170 and $250. Add approximately $150 to $200 for a plumber to install. 

Fix #3: Add Lighting to Closets and Pantries

Dark closets cannot only be safety hazards, they could make dressing more difficult for seniors. With attic access, a qualified technician could install a light for around $250. Cost to add a battery-operated light: typically less than $25. 

Fix #4: Add Swing Clear Hinges

Narrow doorways could be difficult for walkers and wheelchairs to navigate. Replacing standard hinges with "swing clear hinges" allows the door to swing completely clear of the door opening. Cost of a handyman or trim carpenter: approximately $150. A pair of these hinges generally costs between $20 and $30. 

Fix #5: Replace Wall-Mount Shower Heads with Handheld Showerheads on a Hose

Handheld showerheads are both convenient and safe because a senior can use the device as a fixed showerhead- adjustable to the proper height- or convert it to a hand-held one. Cost: generally less than $100. With a plumber's help, costs could be up to $175 to $200.

Check out more CAPS resources at http://www.nahb.org/category.aspx?sectionID=686

For more about home safety, visit MakingHomeSaferForSeniors.com

Research: Eye Health Should Focus on Early Diagnosis

It’s true that glaucoma can be a serious disease. A leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, glaucoma affects more than 2.7 million individuals aged 40 and older in the United States and 60.5 million people globally.

Here’s some good news coming out of recent research: The probability of blindness due to glaucoma has decreased by nearly half since 1980. Researchers speculate that advances in diagnosis and therapy are likely causes for the decrease, but caution that a significant proportion of patients still progress to blindness.

This study, published in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, was conducted by a team based at the Mayo Clinic. It is the first to assess long-term changes in the risk of progression to blindness and the population incidence of glaucoma-related blindness.

Researchers from Mayo Clinic College of Medicine found the 20-year probability and the incidence of blindness from glaucoma in at least one eye had decreased from 25.8 percent for subjects diagnosed between 1965 and 1980 to 13.5 percent for those diagnosed between 1981 and 2000. The incidence of blindness within 10 years of diagnosis also decreased from 8.7 per 100,000 to 5.5 per 100,000 for those groups, respectively. Fifteen percent of the patients diagnosed in the more recent timeframe still progressed to blindness.

By identifying trends in glaucoma, researchers hope to gain insight into managing this disease and providing people the resources they need.The National Eye Institute recommends that individuals age 60 and older have an eye exam at least every two years. 

To learn more about this report, visit http://www.aao.org/newsroom/release/probability-blindness-from-glaucoma-reduced.cfm.

Older Adults Willing to Change Lifestyle to Avoid Fracture

A new study has found that older patients who know they are at risk of fractures will make positive lifestyle changes to avoid them, such as exercising, wearing proper footwear and taking supplements.

The findings are important, according to Dr. Joanna Sale, a researcher at St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, and lead author of the study. She says much previous research in bone health has focused on medications or found that people make negative lifestyle changes such as reducing housework or leisure activities because they are afraid of falling.

Half of all women over the age of 50 and one in five men over 50 will have a fracture after falling from standing height or lower. Having one such fracture doubles a person's risk of having another. Dr. Sale, a clinical epidemiologist, said her research was aimed at finding ways to prevent those repeat fractures, particularly hip fractures, because about half of all hip fracture patients die or end up in long-term care facilities. Dr. Sale's study, published online in the journal Osteoporosis International, looked at patients over 65 who participated in the Osteoporosis Exemplary Care Program at St. Michael's Fracture Clinic.

Research participants were interviewed about their perceived fracture risk, recommendations they received about their bone health, results of bone density tests and any lifestyle or behavioral changes they made since their last fracture. Many said they didn't want to think about the possibility of a future fracture and felt they had little control over risk factors such as age – yet they all engaged in a number of daily behavioral strategies to manage their fracture risk. Most were concerned about being careful, such as using handrails or wearing proper shoes.

Binge Drinking Tied to Insomnia, Study Reveals

A new study finds that for older people there appears to be a clear link between binge drinking and insomnia. Researchers found adults ages 55 and older who binged on average more than two days a week had an 84 percent greater odds of reporting an insomnia symptom compared with non-binge drinkers.

According to the authors, this is the first study to their knowledge that examines binge drinking (four or more drinks) and its association with insomnia symptoms in older adults.

Results show that overall, 26.2 percent of participants had two or less binge drinking days per week, on average, and 3.1 percent had more than two days per week, on average. Adjustment for demographic variables, medical conditions, and elevated depressive symptoms were made for participants.

“It was somewhat surprising that frequent binge drinking (more than two binge drinking days per week, on average), but not occasional binge drinking (less than two binge drinking days per week, on average) had a significant association with self-reported insomnia symptoms,” said lead author Sarah Canham, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in Drug Dependence Epidemiology, John Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Mental Health in Baltimore, Md.

Insomnia is not the only risk. This report comes on the heels of 2012 research, which found that adults 65 and older who binge drink at least twice a month are two-and-a-half times more likely to suffer cognitive and memory declines, compared with seniors who don’t binge drink, according to research presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

For more about binge drinking, visit http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/alcohol/seniors-who-binge-drink-more-likely-to-suffer-cognitive-decline.

New Report: Seniors Vulnerable to Extreme Heat

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging people – senior citizens in particular – to prepare themselves for the extreme heat of summer after releasing a report showing the U.S. averages 658 deaths a year from this heat. That’s more deaths than from tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and lightning combined. In this new report, more than two-thirds of the deaths (69 percent) occurred at home, and 91 percent of those homes lacked air conditioning. Most of those who died were unmarried or living alone, and 72 percent were male.

“Taking common sense steps in extreme temperatures can prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths,” says Robin Ikeda, MD, MPH, acting director of the National Center for Environmental Health and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The CDC is urging Americans to stay cool, hydrated and informed. Extreme heat affects everyone, but the elderly, children, the poor or homeless, persons who work or exercise outdoors, and those with chronic medical conditions are most at risk.

Extreme heat can lead to very high body temperatures, brain and organ damage, and even death. People suffer heat-related illness when their bodies are unable to compensate and cool themselves properly.

A study released recently in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that 7,233 heat-related deaths occurred in the United States from 1999 to 2009. And, an analysis of 2012 data indicates that deaths are on the rise. In a two-week period in 2012, excessive heat exposure resulted in 32 deaths in four states – four times the typical average for those states for the same two-week period from 1999-2009.

http://www.cdc.gov/extremeheat/seniors.html

Driving with Pets Not a Good Idea

Seniors who regularly put their dog in the car whenever they drive are increasing their risk for being involved in a vehicle collision, say University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers. They say both overall and at-fault crash rates for drivers 70 years of age or older were higher for those whose pet typically rode with them.

 “This is the first study to evaluate the presence of pets in a vehicle as a potential internal distraction for elderly drivers,” said Gerald McGwin, Ph.D., a professor in the Departments of Epidemiology, Ophthalmology and Surgery and senior author of the study.

The study was published in Accident Analysis and Prevention. Distracted driving has become a focal point for the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration and is defined as anything that could potentially remove a driver’s eyes from the road, their hands from the steering wheel or their concentration from the task of driving.

The study, conducted in the Clinical Research Unit in the UAB Department of Ophthalmology, enrolled 2,000 community-dwelling (those who do not live in assisted living or nursing homes) licensed drivers age 70 and older, of whom 691 had pets.

The crash risk for drivers who always drove with their pets was double that of drivers who never drove with a pet, while crash rates for those who sometimes or rarely drove with pets were consistent with the rates for non-pet owners.

More than half the pet owners said they took their pet with them in the car at least occasionally, usually riding on the front passenger seat or in the back seat.