ATLANTA — New data shows that there are more people living with Alzheimer’s Disease than ever before.
Channel 2’s Linda Stouffer spoke with a doctor about the urgent effort to get people to pay attention to the warning signs.
New public awareness public service announcements draw attention to what the Alzheimer’s Association calls a public health crisis.
There are now more than 7 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s. In Georgia, 188,000 people have the brain disease.
Dr. Carl Hill is from the Morehouse School of Medicine and is now with the Alzheimer’s Association.
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“Treatment here is really, really pivotal. Because you know, for the first time, you know there are what we call disease-modifying treatments that slow cognitive decline. They’re only available to individuals in the early stages of the disease, making early detection and diagnosis critically important,” Hill said.
The Alzheimer’s Association has a guide for the top 10 signs of Alzheimer’s, like confusion, and how to tell if it’s different from normal signs of aging.
Hill said Black Americans face higher rates of the disease.
“Nineteen percent of Black adults aged 65 and older have Alzheimer’s dementia compared with 10% of White older adults,” Hill said. “Research has shown us that there are important factors related to cardiovascular health. What’s good for the heart is good for the brain. And Black African Americans are disproportionately affected by cardiovascular health outcomes like diabetes, or stroke, or high cholesterol.”
Healthy nutrition and physical activity are great for healthy aging.
For the top 10 signs to look for, visit www.alz.org.
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