Walkers help give people their independence back. They improve daily function, and they reduce the risk of falling. For most people, it takes a few physical therapy sessions to learn to use a walker correctly.
It appears that people who are regularly physically active are more likely to retain the ability to walk, even if they show signs of long-term blood vessel disease in the brain.
People who provide in-home, long-term care for older adult family members are often overwhelmed by the job.
People who have trouble getting to their target blood pressure may benefit from switching to or adding another drug, called a diuretic, to their medication regimen. Diuretics reduce sodium and water levels in the body.
Why is my doctor checking me for tuberculosis? I thought that was eradicated long ago.
How’s your hand grip? A new study suggests that answering this question could help assess your risk of heart attack, stroke and early death. Grip strength has been shown to be a good indicator of overall muscle strength. In this study, researchers looked at results of grip-strength tests on nearly 140,000 adults. They were 35 to 70 years old and came from 17 countries. In the next 4 years, nearly 3,400 died. People with low grip strength were more likely to die or have a heart attack or stroke than those who were stronger. This was true even after researchers accounted for other factors that affect death and heart disease risk. These factors included age, education level and whether people smoked, drank alcohol or exercised. Every 11-pound drop in grip strength was linked with a 17% increased risk of heart-related death and a 16% increased risk of death from any cause.