On the whole, life expectancy has been rising steadily, and people are even expected to live significantly longer today than they were just 20 years ago. There were two main things that contributed to this: Fewer deaths from both cardiovascular disease and from infectious diseases.
However, as promising as this stat is, it must be contrasted with a rise in the death rate from cancer. The rates for all cancers were not to blame, but the rates for kidney cancer and pancreatic cancer both went up.
Still, these cancers were not the largest killers. That distinction fell to strokes, ischemic heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Though drug use and other such things factored in heavily, those three still caused 32 percent of the total deaths in 2013.
These stats are very important to remember when considering long-term care planning in Houston, Texas. On one hand, people are living longer than they ever have. This is terrific, but it also means that more people will spend time in old age, needing assistance and medical care. Additionally, serious diseases like cancer and various heart and circulatory ailments still strike a huge percentage of the population, so it’s clear that medical care is necessary even though life expectancy is on the rise.
Don’t let yourself be caught up by sickness, disease or simple old age without being ready. It’s very important to look into long-term care planning and all of your legal options and obligations so that you have a solid plan in place as you grow older, when the risk of these ailments goes up.
Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, “Life expectancy increases globally as death toll falls from major diseases,” accessed May. 21, 2015