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who have implanted heart pumps. “I started to notice that there seemed to be people who had a similar stage of heart failure; their hearts seemed to be sick in similar ways,” said Auld. “But they had different symptoms and I wanted to better understand that, so I went to graduate school in nursing.” He’s currently researching the different ways that patients and their partners respond to a health intervention so that future interventions can be better tailored to individuals’ needs. “My work as a nurse, my work as a researcher, is really focused on understanding how patients and caregivers experience and manage their illnesses because we need to know more about how people are doing this and what’s working,” said Auld. Older adults may sometimes attribute early signs of chronic illness to aging, when delaying treatment could make the
condition worse. One of the major differences between aging symptoms and chronic illness symptoms is time. Natural changes in our aging bodies and minds tend to happen over the course of years, not weeks or days, says Auld. Symptoms that develop in a short span of time may be due to a health condition rather than aging. It’s useful to share with your health care provider how recent a symptom is and how quickly it developed, so they better understand the context. Auld recommends writing down how you feel each day or even using a phone app that helps monitor your symptoms. Getting in tune with your body through fitness may also help you better attend to symptoms, he adds. “Everybody has a different level that’s normal for them,” said Auld. “It’s when something deviates from normal that you really want to start addressing it.” Auld presented at the de Tornyay Center for Healthy Aging’s annual Ignite Aging event in September 2019, talking about how older adults should track their health and symptoms day to day. It can help individuals notice new symptoms or manage existing ones. ❖
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by April 5, or received via email by the same date: editor@ northwestprimetime.com. Robert Wood was the winner of the January/February contest (drawn at random from the winning entries). That photo was taken northbound SR 509 (East Side Drive NE), just south of Dash Point State Park, near the border of Pierce and King Counties. Robert Wood stated: “I have been a resident of south King County for most of my 54 years...I enjoy the paper, and look forward to more opportunities to test my knowledge of the Puget Sound area.” ❖
Healthy Aging
Aging and Chronic Conditions ...by Paige Bartlett, UW School of Nursing de Tornyay Center for Healthy Aging
As we problems age, we are earlier rather more likely than later. to develop “People chronic who are illnesses. At managing the same their time, we can symptoms get worse at better and detecting are more signs of those responsive illnesses, says to their Jonathan Auld (right) with another presenter, Oleg Jonathan symptoms Zaslavsky, at the 2019 Ignite Aging symposium Auld, a posttend to doctoral fellow at the University of have better outcomes, tend to Washington School of Nursing. be hospitalized less, tend to have Our perception of classic better quality of life,” said Auld. chronic disease symptoms— like Auld’s research is in heart pain, fatigue and shortness of failure symptoms and selfbreath—may decrease as we get management, although he says older. It’s important to know the techniques and practices for difference between changes in your symptom management can be health that are a natural part of applied across many chronic aging versus a condition that might diseases. His interest in the field need treatment. Tracking symptoms started when he was a ventricular can help manage existing chronic device coordinator, a nurse who illnesses and detect new health works with heart failure patients
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Photos are taken from or adjacent to Washington State highways in our readership area: King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties. Mail your answer to Northwest Prime Time, PO Box 13647, Seattle WA 98198 or email editor@northwestprimetime.com. Answers should include enough of a description so that it is clear you
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March/April 2020
