The medical experts say that the Alzheimer’s disease causes more worry for people over the age of 55 than any other condition. Suspecting you or a loved one may be exhibiting signs of Alzheimer’s can be a stressful and emotional experience. But, you shouldn’t be worried and just because you forget things, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have Alzheimer’s. Even when you fear the worst, the earlier you seek help, the better your chances of getting the care you need and maximizing your quality of life.
According to the latest statistics, the Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, a serious brain disorder that impacts daily living through memory loss and cognitive changes. Although not all memory loss indicates Alzheimer’s disease, one in ten people over 65 years of age, and over half of those over 85 have Alzheimer’s disease. And, unfortunately, currently, 26 million people worldwide have this dementia, and over 15 million Americans will be affected by the year 2050.
The bad thing is that the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease usually develop slowly and gradually worsen over time, progressing from mild forgetfulness to widespread brain impairment. Chemical and structural changes in the brain slowly destroy the ability to create, remember, learn, reason, and relate to others. As critical cells die, drastic personality loss occurs and body systems fail.
Most Common Risk Factors:
Here’s what you need to know – well, the primary risk factors of Alzheimer’s are age, family history, and genetics. However, there are other risk factors that you can influence. Maintaining a healthy heart and avoiding high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and high cholesterol can decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s. Watch your weight, avoid tobacco and excess alcohol, stay socially connected, and exercise both your body and mind.
Most Common Symptoms:
The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are generally mild to start with, but they get worse over time and start to interfere with daily life. There are some common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, but it is important to remember that everyone is unique. Two people with Alzheimer’s are unlikely to experience the condition in exactly the same way.
Well, the medical experts say that for most people with Alzheimer’s, the earliest symptoms are memory lapses. In particular, they may have difficulty recalling recent events and learning new information. These symptoms occur because the early damage in Alzheimer’s is usually to a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which has a central role in day-to-day memory. Memory for life events that happened a long time ago is often unaffected in the early stages of the disease.
Memory loss due to Alzheimer’s disease increasingly interferes with daily life as the condition progresses. The person may lose items around the house, struggle to find the right word in a conversation or forget someone’s name, forget about recent conversations or events, get lost in a familiar place or on a familiar journey, forget appointments or anniversaries, etc.
Don’t Ignore These Early Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease:
- Lack of energy and fatigue.
- Memory loss.
- Sudden mood swings.
- You’re angry and frustrated all the time.
- You react slowly to new situations.
- You learn new things very hard.
- You lost the ability to understand some things.
- You like to be alone.
- You have trouble communicating with others.
- Decreases the performance of everyday activities.
You should be very careful and don’t ignore these early warning signs! We really hope you find this article helpful and don’t forget to share it with you friends and family. Thank You and take care!
