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How to Address Cardiovascular Risk Factors for Better Brain Health:
12 Risks to Know & 5 Things to Do

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 96 Comments

cardiovascular risk factorsA while back, I wrote an article on cerebral small vessel disease, a very common condition in which the small blood vessels of the brain develop signs of damage.

If you’re an older adult and you’ve had an MRI done of your brain, chances are pretty good that your scan showed signs of at least mild signs of this condition; one study of older adults aged 60-90 found that 95% of them showed signs of these changes.

These are basically like teensy strokes in the brain. Most are un-noticeable to people, but if you have enough of them, you can certainly develop symptoms, such as cognitive impairment, balance problems, or even vascular dementia.

To date, the cerebral small vessel disease article has generated over 100 comments and questions from readers. A common theme was this: “My MRI shows signs of this condition. What can I do?”

As I explain in the article and the comments, the first thing to do is to work closely with your doctors to understand what is the likely cause of the damage to the brain’s small blood vessels.

Now, when you do this, you may well find that your doctor just shrugs, or waves off the question.

That’s because in most people, cerebral small vessel disease is thought to be in large part a result of atherosclerosis (more on this term below) affecting the smaller arteries of the brain.  And atherosclerosis affects just about everyone as they age, because it’s related to many basic cardiovascular risk factors that become very common in late-life.

So in many cases, asking the doctor why you have signs of cerebral small vessel disease may be like asking why you might have high blood pressure, or arthritis. These are common conditions and they are usually due to medically mundane causes and risk factors, including sub-optimal “lifestyle” behaviors and the general “wear and tear” on the body that is associated with aging.

(However, in some people, damage to the small vessels in the brain may be related to one or more particular medical conditions. Younger people, in particular, seem more likely to have a particular condition or risk factor that may be causing most of the damage.)

Whether you are younger (i.e under age 60) or older, always start by asking your doctors what they think are the most likely causes for any cerebral small vessel disease, and what they recommend you do to slow the progression.

And for most people, the main advice will be this: evaluate and address your cardiovascular risk factors.

“Vascular,” as you probably already know, means “blood vessels.” And blood vessels are critical to the function of every part of the body, because blood vessels are what brings oxygen and nutrients to every cell in the body. They also carry away waste products and toxins. So, blood vessel health is key to brain health.

This article will help you better understand how to address blood vessel health. Specifically, I’ll cover: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Aging health, Geriatrics For Caregivers Blog Tagged With: brain health, healthy aging, prevention

26 Recommended Preventive Health Services for Older Adults:
the Healthy Aging Checklist Part 5

by Leslie Kernisan, MD MPH 24 Comments

Aging Parents To Do ListThis is the fifth in a series of posts covering the Healthy Aging Checklist, which is my list of six fundamental activities that will help any older adult maintain the best possible health while aging.

They are:

  • Promote brain health and emotional well-being.
  • Promote physical health.
  • Check for and address common senior health problems (such as falls, memory concerns, depression, incontinence, pain, isolation, polypharmacy).
  • Learn to optimize the management of any chronic conditions.
  • Get recommended preventive health services for older adults.
  • Address medical, legal, and financial advance care planning.

In this post, I’ll cover recommended preventive health services for older adults, based on the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and also Medicare’s coverage of preventive health services.

By my count, based on the USPSTF and Medicare guidelines, there are currently 26 preventive health services that older adults should consider. I have a summary list here, and then detailed information on each service starting here.

Get Your Free Preventive Health Cheatsheet! The 26 proven preventive health services for older adults, in a handy PDF checklist that you can print or save. Includes details on who should get each service, and helpful links. Click here now.

But before you read about them, let’s go over the basics of how preventive health services work, including why they can sometimes be harmful, or sometimes fall out of favor.

This way, when you review the list of preventive services to consider, you’ll better understand which services are likely to help, and why certain services may not be a good fit for you or your parent.

Understanding Preventive Health Services

Preventive health services essentially fall into three categories: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Aging health, Geriatrics For Caregivers Blog, Helping Older Parents Articles Tagged With: health screening tests, healthy aging, prevention

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