| what can you do to best meet the challenge of delivering age-appropriate care | know the difference between normal aging vs illness or disease-related changes and be able to assess effectively in older adults with delirium, dementia, and depression |
| define common theories of aging; programmed aging | cells in the body can reproduce only 40 to 60 times; aging takes place when more and more cells no longer have the capacity to regenerate themselves |
| define common theories of aging; genetic factors | people inherit a genetic program that determines their specific life expectancy |
| define common theories of aging; immunologic | the immune system becomes less effective or less able to distinguish between foreign and host cells aging is a consequentially diminished protection from infection or disease, and the immune system destroying body cells that it misreads as defective of foreign |
| define common theories of aging; wear and tear | cells from the body wear out from internal and external stress, including chemical damage, trauma, or dysfunction of the body systems, and build up of waste product |
| brittle nails are often associated with | fluctuations in hormones that occur during menopause |
| when fluid deficit is caused by older adult trying to control incontinence, the most inappropriate intervention is | to make fluids readily available and toilet facilities more easily accessible |
| define stress incontinence | involuntary loss of small amount of urine with increased abnormal pressure, such as coughing or sneezing |
| urge incontinence | associated with cystitis, urethritis, tumors, stones, and CNS disorders such as stroke, dementia, and Parkinson's disease |
| overflow incontinence | when a chronologically full bladder increases bladder pressure to a higher level than urethral resistance is able to counter, resulting in small volume of urine |
| functional urinary incontinence | occurs as a result of inability or willingness to get to the toilet because of physical limitations, depression, or confinement to bed or use of restraints |
| what is the leading cause of death in the US | heart disease |
| what are nonmodifiable risk factors for heart attacks | age, gender, and family history |
| what are modifiable risk factors for heart attacks | smoking, high blood pressure, high fat diet, obesity, physical inactivity, and stress |
| what level of cholesterol raises risk for cardiac arrest | 130mg/dl |
| Dysrhythmias cause the heart to be | less effective in supplying blood to the body and have the potential to lead to heart failure |
| nursing interventions for PVD (peripheral vascular disease) | circulation, including walking to stimulate venous return, avoid standing one place for to long, and not crossing the legs |
| what provides support for varicose veins | compression stockings |
| what happens to oxygen in older adults | oxygen-carrying capacity (hemoglobin) is often diminished |
| the most frequently occurring fractures aiming older adults are | hip, vertebral, and clavicular |
| a significant % of patients with hip facts die within | one year after injury |
| define osteoporosis | a systemic skeletal disease, and is one of the most common conditions is older women |
| what are the characteristics of osteoporosis | low bone mass, deterioration of bone tissue resulting in a significantly increased risk of fractures |
| fractures are possible in the course of routine activities such as | bending, lifting, coughing, and straining at stool |
| Osteoporosis of the spinal vertebrae may cause | loss of height of 1 1/2"-3" or kyphosis |
| what medication is typical used for osteoporosis | aldendronate (Fosamax), risedronate(Actonel), zoledronic acid (reclast), and ibandronate (Boniva) |
| what does the osteoporosis medications do | bone density and lessen the rate of bone loss |
| age-related vision problems also include | narrowing of the peripheral field of vision, decreased ability to focus on near objects, and a decrease in visual acuity as the pupil becomes smaller and less responsive to light |
| nervous system changes related to age include | decline in number of brain cells and peripheral nerve cells and fibers, and synaptic changes that affect transmission and the sensitivity of target cells to neurotransmitters |
| delirium is not a disease of the nervous system; it is a syndrome that results from one or more of the following such as | fever or infection, dehydration or malnutrition, electrolyte imbalance, sleep deprivation, alcohol or drug use or abusee or withdrawal, pain, medications, physiological conditions resulting win inadequate oxygen to the brain |
| MID( multiinfarct dementia, vascular dementia) is the | second most common cause of dementia in older adults |
| risk factors fro developing MID include | arteriorsclerosis, blood dyscrasis, cardiac decompensation, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, cardiac valve replacement etc |
| what is the leadingl cause of accidental death in individuals older than 65 | falls; approximately 25% of adults older than 65 fall each year |
