The Elderly and Chronic Diseases

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Discuss the following common chronic conditions: heart disease, cancer, and AIDS. Chronic diseases are considered to be diseases that have a long lasting effect on ones life. The conditions are even greater in an older persons life more so than in a younger individual. Long term chronic health conditions last longer than 3 months, are often permanent with no cure leaving a residual disability that may require long-term management or care rather than a cure (cite book). According to the text more than 80 percent of persons age 70 and over have at lest one chronic condition with multiple health problems occurring in 50 percent of the older population (cite text). They are often accompanied by continuous pain and distress (text). Heart disease is a common chronic condition in older adults. Coronary heart disease also known as CHD, along with stroke are the leading causes of death among older adults. Coronary heart disease is a condition in which blood to the heart is deficient because of a narrowing or constricting of the cardiac vessels that supply it. This is due to atherosclerosis (cite text). Atherosclerosis is when fatty deposits known as plaque formation, begin to accumulate to reduce the size of the passageway of the large arteries (cite). Atherosclerosis can also reduce the blood flow which may result in angina pectoris. With angina comes shortness of breath and pain from beneath the breastbone, in the neck, and down the left arm. These symptoms can be confused with indigestion or associated with gallbladder issues (cite text). Cancer is another chronic disease that many people old and young face. 60 percent of all new cancers and 70 percent of cancer-related deaths occur in people age 65 and older (text). 22 percent of these deaths are due to cancer of the lungs, breast, colon and pancreas. Of the different types of cancer, breast

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