Life on Florida’s West Coast

We’re Living Longer

New reports show that the American life expectancy is up to 78 now. Women still have a 5 year lead on the men, though.

My relatives on both sides tend to start declining significantly in their mid 80s. I just went to my grandmother’s funeral a little over a week ago. She was 84 when she died. Oddly, she died of Alzheimer’s disease, which the same reports say has increased a full 5% in the number of annual deaths it causes. It’s the 7th leading cause of death in the US. Deaths due to stoke and heart disease are down.

In my own lifetime I have seen the life expectancy here go up in tiny increments. I can only hope that medical advances and healthier lifestyle trends will inch that expectancy was up by the time my daughter is an adult.

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