Aging Patients’ Obesity Puts More Pressure On Nursing Homes
Also, The Associated Press reports that very old age is not a barrier to aggressive treatment for some illnesses.
Kaiser Health News:
Rising Obesity Puts Strain On Nursing Homes
The percentage of those entering American nursing homes who are moderate and severely obese — with a body mass index of 35 or greater — has risen sharply, to nearly 25 percent in 2010 from 14.7 percent in 2000, according to a recent study, and many signs suggest the upward trend is continuing. But as demand from severely obese patients surges, nursing home administrators say they cannot afford to care for them. (Varney, 12/15)
The Associated Press:
Who's Too Old For Major Treatment? Age Not Always A Barrier
Irwin Weiner felt so good after heart surgery a few weeks before turning 90 that he stopped for a pastrami sandwich on the way home from the hospital. Dorothy Lipkin danced after getting a new hip at age 91. And at 94, William Gandin drives himself to the hospital for cancer treatments. Jimmy Carter isn't the only nonagenarian to withstand rigorous medical treatment. Very old age is no longer an automatic barrier for aggressive therapies, from cancer care like the former president has received, to major heart procedures, joint replacements and even some organ transplants. (Tanner, 12/14)
Also, new guidelines, evidence are leading some physicians to change how coronary heart disease is treated -
The Kansas City Star:
Fewer Doctors Do Unneeded Angioplasties
When clots block your heart arteries, you have a heart attack. So it only makes sense that an angioplasty to widen your narrowing arteries before you have a heart attack should prevent it from ever happening and even save your life. Plenty of patients, and even some heart specialists, still think so. But study after study has been showing that the conventional wisdom is wrong – in most cases, the operation won’t protect you from a future heart attack. The mounting evidence, along with new treatment guidelines, has been causing a quiet revolution in the treatment of coronary heart disease, shifting patients away from angioplasty in favor of medications, exercise and better diets. (Bavley, 12/15)
