The Dangers of Pneumonia in the Elderly

As a young adult with a pretty bad pine allergy, I am plagued for a at least a week each year with pneumonia. This usually happens right around Christmas for the obvious reasons. Once I have the right inhaler and  combine that with a few medicines I bounce back fairly quickly with only a few lingering symptoms. Older adults don't seem to have the same experience. Pneumonia is often deadly for the frail. I have found that the elderly aren't as likely to report the symptoms that come along with the respiratory infection until it's too late. The symptoms include a severe cough (usually accompanied by coughing up mucus), a fever, chills, shortness of breath, cloudy thoughts, along with several others.Younger patients are more likely to report a change in health faster because they usually feel well. A frailer adult is likely to have a few of these symptoms on a regular basis. If you notice similar symptoms in an older adult that you are providing care for, remember to take action sooner rather than later! 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001200/

Down Syndrome and Alzheimer's

From the psychology of aging course that most of us took last year, I recall learning about how there is a connection between Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. We really only touched on the subject so I thought it would be a good idea to look into it further. I have found that people who have Down syndrome are much more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, and they do so at a younger age. Adults with Down syndrome are likely to develop the plaques and tangles associated with Alzheimer's disease as young as 3 or 4 years old. Their brains are able to repair the damage for a few decades and the common symptoms are likely to appear a few decades earlier then they do in the average adult. I read an article by USA Today that somewhat explained how people with Down syndrome aren't susceptible to numerous diseases that come with aging.  They are unlikely to develop heart disease despite the majority of them being overweight, or even hard cancers even though they show the effects of aging much earlier than a person without Down syndrome. Doctors are still working on figuring out what is happening on the 21st chromosome that does these things but makes them more susceptible to Alzheimer's disease. Last May, a few scientists discovered genes on chromosome 21 that inhibit the growth of blood vessels. This may have an affect on the development of Alzheimer's. By the age of 65, 75% of people with Down syndrome will also have dementia.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-03-22-down22_CV_N.htm

Heart Rate and Age

According to an article posted on the LIVESTRONG website, "Heart rate refers to the pace at which your heart pumps blood through your body. An adequate heart rate is important because blood carries oxygen, nutrients and waste products." The average adult resting heart rate is around 70 beats per minute. I found that highly trained athletes will have a low heart rate, around 40-60 beats per minute,This is because the more you work out the more effiecient your heart pumps. which I thought was interesting. Heart rate can also be affected my numerous external factors. These could include medication, temperature, stress level, as well as other lifestyle differences. 

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/168986-why-does-the-heart-rate-decrease/#ixzz1qqfEGoTN"