There are many ailments that afflict the elderly. Fergus Bescoby investigates the main offenders.
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive condition, which means the symptoms develop gradually and become more severe over the course of several years.
The first sign of Alzheimer's disease is usually minor memory problems. For example, this could be forgetting about recent conversations or events, and forgetting the names of places and objects. As the condition develops, memory problems become more severe and further symptoms can develop, such as:
• confusion and disorientation
• personality changes, such as becoming aggressive, demanding and suspicious of others
• hallucinations (seeing things that are not there) and delusions (believing things that are untrue)
• problems with language and speech
• problems moving around without assistance
At this time, scientists have no answer to preventing the onset of Alzheimer's illness, even though there are regular headlines declaring a breakthrough in latest drug therapy.
There are however some findings that may actually contribute to the development of this illness. These include poor cardiovascular health, poor dietary intake, and lack of intellectual stimulation.
Heart failure
Heart Failure is another problem that affects a lot of the elderly. This is simply the state where the blood is not pumped in adequate amounts to satisfy the needs of the body. There are a number of underlying causes for this illness and they include high blood pressure, obesity, valve problems, and heart attacks. They all tend to weaken the heart and make it less efficient to operate.
Heart failure is usually classified on which heart function or which side of the heart is most affected, rather than the actual cause of your heart failure. The main types are systolic heart failure, diastolic heart failure or a combination of the two.
There are a number of different symptoms that are experienced prior to heart failure, and they include such things as coughing, shortness of breath, and swelling of the ankles. They can be warning signs to get help before it is too late.
There are around 68,000 new cases of heart failure diagnosed in the UK each year. Heart failure becomes more common as people get older. About 1 in 15 of people aged 75-84 and just over 1 in 7 people aged 85 and above have heart failure. It is uncommon in younger people
Cancer
Cancer is primarily a disease of older people, with incidence rates increasing with age for most cancers.
