Interesting coincidence...yesterday, I completed a continuing education article about whether or not to prescribe aspirin to folks for prevention of Cardiovascular Heart Disease and Stroke. Mind you, I went into it very pro-aspirin. However, I developed some reservations when I read that taking NSAIDS concurrently makes you 4X more likely to have a serious gastric bleed (and how many older folks are taking ibuprofen for their arthritis and such?).
In the after-article quiz, they asked a question about an 83 yr old woman who was asking about taking aspirin for stroke prevention. In the pre-test, I said, "Yes, recommend a low-dose aspirin". In the post-test, I chose the option that said there were no specific recommendations for the 80+ age group, which there aren't--largely because the risk of gastric bleeds is so much greater in the elderly.
Anyhow, they marked my choice wrong! Clearly, the authors are so pro-aspirin that they think we should know to disregard the guidelines and prescribe anyhow! My pre-test answer was correct, according to them.
I was worked up over it, and I woke Michael yesterday morning with a tirade about the number of serious gastric bleeds caused by aspirin and how, even if the risk of MI is reduced by more, I'd be hesitant to inflict the gastric bleeds on patients (the whole 'first do no harm' vow).
Anyhow, how often do I go off about serious gastric bleeds? Grammy (Michael's mother) called last night to let us know that Gramps' older half-brother was in serious condition due to a serious gastric bleed. He passed away last night.
Strange coincidence, isn't it?
Anyhow, Uncle Howard was an interesting fellow. He was a total bibliophile, and his house was packed with so many books that you could barely walk! Stacks to the ceiling everywhere! I have never seen the like...
Uncle Howard was interested in books, physics, airplanes. and guns, I believe. He never married, but he lived with his mother until she passed away and stayed in the same house until moving to a nursing home in the last couple of years.
I don't think I mentioned on the blog that we were just in Mississippi for Grandma Allen's funeral last month. That's Grammy's mother, who was 97, I believe.
We sure have had our share of funerals in the past few years...whew!
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