New research coming out of the Boston University School of Medicine has some exciting news: the rate of strokes occurring in both middle aged and elderly individual is on the decline. The rate of having a stroke for the first time has gone down by 39 percent in middle aged adults, and 53 percent in senior citizens. This is all very encouraging news, especially for our elderly loved ones. A stroke can be a life changing event and can result in permanent disability or even death. The fact that these catastrophic events are decreasing in frequency is good news because it means our elderly loved ones are more likely to have a higher quality of life as a result.
There’s a lot that goes into these numbers, but preventative care and increased awareness is one of the main causes why this has occurred. Things like high blood pressure, smoking, poor diet, and lack of exercise all contribute to the risk of stroke. Today, we are much better at avoiding or treating these things than we once were. Data from two different time periods was compared in this respect, and it was found that these campaigns to help people live healthier lives is paying off. Maintaining healthy habits goes a long way toward helping everyone.
This is great news for us because it means that there is a lot that can be done to help improve the health of our family members as long as we can help them to stay on top of things. It also means that we can help to reduce the need for senior care by helping our families (and ourselves!) to stay healthier for longer periods of time. This improves lifestyles and can help reduce care expenses, too. Those are all very good things.
Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done here. When a senior does experience a stroke, the outcome tends to be much worse than if a younger individual has a stroke. This goes of other health emergencies, too. So while the rate of strokes may be dropping in both the younger and older populations, the severity of strokes that senior citizens face is just as severe as it once was. This should be a note of encouragement to help us pursue strong care for the people that we love. If a trained caregiver is with your mom or dad when an emergency arises, the odds of recognition and successful treatment increase drastically.
Finding appropriate help is an absolute must if you’re going to help a loved one recover from a stroke. This is a multi-faceted task, but it’s one that can help improve life even after a stroke has occurred.
You have a lot of choices out there when it comes to care. Each family and each situation is different and what works in one instance will not always work in another. Knowing your options and knowing their strengths and weaknesses will be a good way to help get you guided in the right direction.
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