HEALTH CARE MAINTENANCE FOR SENIORS DISCUSSED DURING SENIOR-WISE

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(Casper, WY) -- Health care maintenance for seniors was the discussion topic during a recent edition of Senior-Wise, the weekly informational program at the Casper Senior Center. The guest speaker was Dr. Tabitha Thrasher (pictured above), a resident physician at Wyoming Family Practice in Casper. She stressed that preventive  care is important from birth throughout life and suggested many practices to help us all live our lives to the fullest. 

First, she said, know what you're dealing with. "The three leading causes of death for seniors," she cautioned, "are heart attacks, strokes and cancer. So take care of your heart and your body and make sure you regularly screen for cancers to help with early detection."

Second, she noted, it's important to have the appropriate immunizations, to make lifestyle modifications such as exercising regularly and quitting smoking. She also recommended a pneumonia vaccination if you're over the age of 65 and have never had one. In addition, she urged seniors to get a shingles vaccination. "You only need to be vaccinated for shingles once in your lifetime," she said.

She also stressed the importance of regular exercise. "Thirty minutes of moderate exercise five days a week is a good idea for those over 65, and since bone fractures are more common in seniors, weight bearing exercises are important too," she noted.

She also shared some new blood pressure guidelines for those over the age of 60 with no history of diabetes or chronic kidney disease. "For those individuals, it's not recommended that the blood pressure be 150 over 90. She said it's been learned that aggressive blood pressure controls can cause falls. She said for those persons with diabetes or chronic kidney disease blood pressure should still be 140 over 90.

Finally, she stressed the importance of regular tests and screenings for things like cancer. "If you're over 50 you should get a colonoscopy every ten years as long as the test results are normal. For women, get a mammography starting at age 50, or sooner if there's  a risk of breast cancer in your family." And she said it's also a good idea to get annual blood work done starting at age 35, to screen for things like blood sugar and cholesterol.

Senior-Wise is the weekly information and discussion program held Tuesdays at 12:30 at the Casper Senior Center,