The incidence of TIA in the United States is estimated to be 200,000-500,000 per year, with a prevalence of 5 million individuals, but is likely underreported.2 Stroke is preceded by TIA in 12-30% of patients and is the 5th leading cause of death in the US, contributing significantly to long term disability.2,3 Strokes occur more commonly in men than women, but women experience more severe morbidity.2,3 Stroke prevalence increases with age and occurs more frequently in black and Hispanic populations.3 It should also be noted that 90% of strokes worldwide occur in the setting of potentially modifiable risk factors which presents an incredible opportunity for early intervention, especially following TIA.2
TIA: Emergency Department Evaluation and Disposition — http://www.emdocs.net/tia-emergency-department-evaluation-and-disposition/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tia-emergency-department-evaluation-and-disposition
Need Retirement Income? – (Life Underwriters Need Not Worry)
The total number of life insurance policies sold rose 8% in the first six months of the year and marked the highest such growth since 1983, LIMRA said. And there were other indicators in that same data that pointed to positive signs: Total U.S. life insurance premium increased 21% in the second quarter 2021, the largest year-over-year increase since third quarter 1987; in addition, it was up 18% for the first half of 2021 compared to the prior year.
Life Insurance Sales Are Up, But for How Long? — https://news.ambest.com/articlecontent.aspx?refnum=313837&altsrc=2
I know who you are and I know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have very much money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that are currently in short supply. Skills that I can and will take to the highest bidder.
The Supreme Commander
I last posted about my upcoming retirement in More Retirement Income Ahead!
I need to start referring to my upcoming retirement as What Retirement?
Quote for Today – 11.09.21
While researching home blood pressure monitors…
Doctor recommended purchasing a home BP monitor. The cuff gets entirely too tight. But more important, this monitor is grossly inaccurate. Never matches or even comes close to the readings I get in the doctor’s office. I had one reading of 297/182. I’d be dead if that was accurate. Don’t waste your money.
Online anonymous reviewer
Still Thinking About a Booster Shot?
When someone who has had a mild case of COVID is vaccinated, the antibody level in their blood doubles compared to an unvaccinated person who has been infected by the virus. Their antibodies are also better able to prevent spike-ACE-2 interaction.
Université de Montréal. “COVID-19: The older you are, the more antibodies you have, study finds.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211108081455.htm (accessed November 9, 2021).
A very small study with very interesting findings.
Also see Thinking About a Booster Shot?
Pumpkin Tree – 2021
Thinking About a Booster Shot?
The graph shows increases in the numbers of daily severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and new cases of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), on different scales, during the delta variant wave among persons who had received two doses of vaccine.
Waning Immunity after the BNT162b2 Vaccine in Israel – https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2114228?af=R&rss=currentIssue
It may be real nerdy but I like to do my research.
Higher Mortality Risk Among Transgender People
Transgender people have a 2-fold higher mortality risk than the general population, a study of about 4600 transgender people in the Netherlands reported.
Higher Mortality Risk Among Transgender People – https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2785253
Don’t Take an Aspirin and Call Me in the Morning — A Country Doctor Writes:
People are asking about the latest US Public Health Service Taskforce on Prevention (USPSTF) recommendation about the use of aspirin to prevent heart disease. It has been a long-standing recommendation for people who already have heart disease. When I turned 50, I started taking a “baby” aspirin. That was their recommendation then. I stopped taking […]
Don’t Take an Aspirin and Call Me in the Morning — A Country Doctor Writes:
Personal Note:
A few years back I was taking 81mg aspirin AND fish oil. I stopped taking the fish oil because every nick, scratch and cut would not stop bleeding and took a long time to clot. Personally I plan on continuing my aspirin therapy at least until my next wellness exam. My physician wanted me to continue aspirin until age 70. We’ll see.
Molnupiravir 3.0
This post is updated to include a link to the http://www.nature.com article on this drug’s development history.
A planned interim analysis of 775 patients in Merck’s study found that 7.3% of those given molnupiravir were either hospitalized or had died by 29 days after treatment, compared with 14.1% of placebo patients. There were no deaths in the molnupiravir group, but there were eight deaths of placebo patients.
Merck to Seek FDA OK for Its COVID Pill After Trial Stopped Early — https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/960089?src=rss#vp_2
What we know — and don’t know — about Merck’s new Covid-19 pill
https://www.statnews.com/2021/10/04/what-we-know-and-dont-know-about-mercks-new-covid-19-pill/?utm_campaign=rss
Molnupiravir, on the other hand, gets incorporated into burgeoning RNA strands and, once inside, wreaks havoc. The compound can shift its configuration, sometimes mimicking the nucleoside cytidine and sometimes mimicking uridine. Those RNA strands become faulty blueprints for the next round of viral genomes. Anywhere the compound gets inserted and that conformational shift happens, a point mutation occurs, Plemper says. When enough mutations accumulate, the viral population collapses. “That is what we term lethal mutagenesis,” he adds. “The virus essentially mutates itself to death.” And because the mutations accumulate randomly, it’s difficult for viruses to evolve resistance to molnupiravir — another plus for the compound. But the compound’s mutagenic potential in human cells — the possibility that it could incorporate itself into DNA — does raise safety concerns, some researchers say.
How antiviral pill molnupiravir shot ahead in the COVID drug hunt — https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02783-1
HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) Filters and Covid-19 – Updated 10.10.21
Research at a hospital swamped by people with COVID-19 has confirmed that portable air filters effectively remove SARS-CoV-2 particles from the air — the first such evidence in a real-world setting1. The results suggest that air filters could be used to reduce the risk of patients and medical staff contracting SARS-CoV-2 in hospitals, the study’s authors say.
Real-world data show that filters clean COVID-causing virus from air — https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02669-2
We have several HEPA filters in the house to remove allergens for the allergy sufferer and now…
We have several HEPA filters in the house to remove SARS-CoV-2 virus from the house
The study findings have not been peer reviewed. But this won’t stop me from picking up one or two more HEPA’s for the house.
Update 10.10.21
Here’s a link to the http://www.nature.com podcast, same topic plus the Bangladesh mask study findings. Ten minute listen for those without the time to read the full article. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02785-z
lifeunderwriter.net 
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