*Are Clinton and Trump too old to be in the White House?
<http://nypost.com/2016/09/13/doctors-detail-what-could-be-ailing-old-timers-clinton-and-trump/>*

By Molly Shea <http://nypost.com/author/molly-shea/>

September 13, 2016 | 1:31am

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Are Clinton and Trump too old to be in the White House?]

Hillary Clinton, 68, had a health scare during Sunday's 9/11 memorial.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump, 70, pledged to release his medical records. Photo:
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; EPA/Jim Lo Scalzo

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump may not have much in common when it comes
to policies and demeanor. But they do share one defining characteristic:
They’re both squarely in senior-citizen territory.

Trump turned 70 this summer, while Clinton will turn 69 on Oct. 26. That
makes them the oldest presidential nominees to go head to head in an
election year, and if Trump wins, he’ll be the oldest first-term president
in history (Clinton, if elected, will be the second-oldest, after Ronald
Reagan).

But while both candidates pack decades of experience, their age may not be
a bonus when it comes to health. Clinton made news on Sunday when she
appeared to collapse at a 9/11 memorial event
<http://nypost.com/2016/09/11/hillary-clinton-has-medical-episode-at-911-ceremony/>
— which her campaign first blamed on the heat, then on a bout of walking
pneumonia
<http://nypost.com/2016/09/11/hillary-clinton-was-diagnosed-with-pneumonia-on-friday/>
.

All of which raises the question: What should a person’s health look like
at 70 years old?

It’s a tricky question to answer, partly because a 70-year-old today is
different from a 70-year-old in 1916, or even 1966.

“We’re healthier [at 70] now than we ever have been in human history,” says
Steven Austad, Ph.D., a professor at University of Alabama at Birmingham
and the scientific director of the American Federation for Aging Research
<http://www.afar.org/>. Plus, the more years we rack up, the more different
from others in our age group we become. “All 20-year-olds are pretty much
the same, but [all] 70-year-olds are not,” he adds.

On average, he says, upper-class septuagenarians are much more likely to be
healthy and live longer than those in the middle or lower class. And
lifestyle decisions made over the years — salad or fries? jog or TV? —
start to show more than ever once you pass 65.

But there is some common ground when it comes to turning 70. Here’s what
experts say to expect.

*Immune system declines*

“Every one of our functions declines at about 5 percent every 10 years,”
says Dr. Michael Roizen, chief wellness officer at Cleveland Clinic
<http://my.clevelandclinic.org/>.

That includes the immune system, which becomes less sensitive to allergens
as you pass 65. But it’s also less aggressive when fighting off illness.

‘Every one of our functions declines at about 5 percent every 10 years.’

 - Dr. Michael Roizen of the Cleveland Clinic

“After 65, your immune system doesn’t react as well,” says Roizen. That
means viruses that wouldn’t have been particularly dangerous earlier in
life, such as the flu, carry a bigger risk. Exercise and other healthy
lifestyle choices can slow the immune system’s decline, but can’t stop it.

*Higher risk of heart disease & stroke*

Because plaque builds up in arteries over time, people are more vulnerable
to heart attacks and strokes in their 70s than in their 60s, and that
vulnerability continues to increase over time.

Thankfully, effective treatments can now combat these conditions: “If you
look at President Eisenhower — who developed hypertension — he [suffered
from] a stroke [and] heart attack because we didn’t have medications [back
then] to decrease plaque,” says Roizen.

‘If you look at President Eisenhower — who developed hypertension — he
[suffered from] a stroke [and] heart attack because we didn’t have
medications [back then] to decrease plaque.’

 - Dr. Michael Roizen

*Bones lose density*

Osteoporosis becomes a bigger concern once men and women enter their 70s,
and they’re at a greater risk of breaking their bones from a fall than
their younger cohorts. Plus, declining eyesight and balance throughout
one’s 70s can lead to more falls.

*Memory may falter*

“Your chances of getting Alzheimer’s doubles every five years after 65,”
Austad says. And, in the 70s, a diagnosis means a serious jump in a
person’s risk of mortality — 61 percent of those with Alzheimer’s at 70 are
expected to die before age 80, as opposed to 30 percent of those without
Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association <http://www.alz.org/>.

*Friends can help combat stress*

Connections with friends and community become even more essential in one’s
70s. “You can take as many vitamins as possible, but without a sense of
purpose and meaning, you will age faster,” says Lawrence T. Force, Ph.D.,
director of the Center on Aging and Policy
<http://www.msmc.edu/About_MSMC/centers/center_for_aging_and_policy> at
Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY.

Having friends, confidants and purpose can stave off stress that can lead
to hypertension, says Roizen — a common malady for past stress-addled
presidents.


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