Human Limits

Over the Holidays I bumped into a colleague who told me about her 95 year old father (a retired pharmacist) who is still physically active and living independently. He walks two miles per day, and plays golf (he shot his age at 91, but is now “only” doing 9 holes). He is also active in his church and community. The other interesting thing is that “Dad” had a hard time retiring and for many years pinch hit in pharmacies in the upper Midwest that were short staffed. My colleague also mentioned in follow-up e-mails that her Dad lost his mother in childbirth, was a WW2 veteran who got off the farm and into the pharmacy via the GI Bill, and he also quit smoking back in the 1960s.

Did He “Know” Lester Breslow?

The graphic below is one I use in talks on healthy aging and “who makes it to 90”. It highlights the key principles on this topic that were discovered by the pioneering epidemiologist Lester Breslow. When I heard the story of my colleague’s father what Breslow discovered certainly seems to ring true for “Dad”.

Circumstances & How You Respond

The other thing that hit me about “Dad” in specific and that also seems to apply to many healthy agers is how resolute and resilient they have been over the years. Somehow they all seem to understand — or maybe have learned — that you can’t always control the circumstances you find yourself in but you can control how you respond. At some level this may be a learnable life skill and the Holocaust survivor and famed psychiatrist Viktor Frankl felt that resilience can be learned. He noted:

“Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.”

Please Share Your Story

I personally find stories like the one above to be incredibly interesting and inspiring. If you have one, please share it in the comments section and in a future post I will highlight the key messages and insights.

Thanks and remember the words of John Wooden:

“Do not permit what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”

 

 

 

The reemergence of former Vice President Dick Cheney in the CIA torture debate raises or re-raises all sorts of questions. One question that is not getting much attention is the health and age of key decision makers like Supreme Court Justices and high ranking elected officials.   I bring this up because Cheney has a long standing history of cardiac disease including at least four major open heart surgeries (two bypasses, an artificial heart and finally a heart transplant).   I also bring it up in the context of commercial airline pilots who are forced to retire at age 65 and prior to that are limited from working if they have significant medical problems. Additionally, depending on their age, they have to pass yearly or twice yearly physical exams to continue flying.

The Supremes

Currently, five of nine members of the Supreme Court are over 65 and would be ineligible for a commercial airline pilots licence based on age alone.   Justice Samuel Alito is knocking on the door and will be 65 on April 1^st, 2015.

The Senate and House

The US Senate is an “old” organization with 40 of 100 members over 65. Harry Reid is 75 and Mitch McConnel is 72. I have no idea about the health status of Mitch McConnel, but Reid suffered strokes in 2013 and 2005. John Boehner is 65 and Nancy Pelosi is 74.

2016?

If Hillary Clinton were to be elected president in 2016 she will be 69, and she has a history of a venous blood clot in her brain. Vice President Joe Biden just turned 72 and has had brain surgery and also atrial fibrillation. Mitt Romney is 67, and at least as of 2011 was very rigorous about his diet and exercise regimen, but again as fit as he appears to be — he can run for president but can’t fly a commercial airline.

Does it Matter?

In the case of Dick Cheney there has been speculation dating from the middle 2000s that his medical condition(s) might have led to cognitive issues and clouded his judgement. There are also long standing concerns about the health of Franklin Roosevelt in the waning years of World War 2. He had a history of severe hypertension and other problems that almost certainly limited his ability to function late in the war.   Woodrow Wilson had a debilitating stroke in office that was largely covered up. Then there is the case of William Howard Taft who weighed over 300 pounds, was likely diabetic and clearly hypertensive with systolic blood pressures over 200. Taft also had sleep apnea.   After his presidency he served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and more or less acknowledged that he was having cognitive issues before he resigned and then died shortly thereafter at age 72. While we are at it, let’s not forget JFK, who was much younger but a medical train wreck.

Age Limits?

I am an advocate of healthy aging and believe that there should be no hard age limits for most jobs. However, I do believe that the health, especially the cognitive health of older decision makers needs to be evaluated and that those who show evidence of impairment should not be eligible for service. The other issue here is ongoing testing and evaluation of those already in office. Ronald Reagan was confused and rambling in one of his debates with Walter Mondale in 1984. Was it an early sign of his cognitive decline? A key elected leader or judge can make decisions that affect thousands of people in major ways with far more lives at risk than a full airplane. The president can embark on most military interventions with limited oversight. And don’t forget, there is a co-pilot on the plane.