I checked out the e prognosis site - you have to check that you are a physician or it won't allow you to input any information. But, basically, it is to help determine the chance of death for older ones with serious and multiple health issues. I found it interesting - but, take it with a grain of salt as far as I am concerned.
An older loved one can have LOTS of health issues and still live a very long time if they are 'fairly happy' and are well cared for and have access to good health care.
Blood pressure says everything. It should be taken at standing, sitting and lying down positions. Some thin people have higher BP readings than obese persons.
Decades ago, when I was a political science student, we learned about the art and science of predicting elections, which television stations were just getting interested in. A couple of points stick with me. Even if you extrapolate from exit polls and factor in lots of previous research, you cannot be absolutely certain that your prediction is accurate. (For one thing, people lie in exit polls.) And more importantly, even if you can reasonably accurately predict that this county will vote 47% for candidate A, you cannot accurately predict how any randomly chosen citizen will vote.
It may be useful for, say, the administrators of a chain of nursing homes, to be able to look up that the estimated life expectancy of their present resident population is 6.8 years. That could help them plan. But to look up the life expectancy of an individual resident? Nonsense. And because the answer, even if it is set in the midst of all kinds of disclaimers, will have an impact on the family and resident who hear or read it, I think it is a pretty risky practice to look up such things.
Here is one thing we know with certainty: Our loved ones are going to die. We are going to die. Ain't nobody what don't die.
Go figure. You know that the number one cause of death is some form of heart disease. That said, you can start looking at the causative factors: High Blood Pressure, Abnormal EKG, Abnormal Echo, and Obesity. Unless you get tossed under a bus, or die of cancer, chances are these factors can tell HOW you will die, but not when. If you reach 80, start looking at the calendar. Don't buy Five-Year C D's .
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Can an Elderly Person's Life Expectancy Be Gauged by a Website?
An older loved one can have LOTS of health issues and still live a very long time if they are 'fairly happy' and are well cared for and have access to good health care.
It may be useful for, say, the administrators of a chain of nursing homes, to be able to look up that the estimated life expectancy of their present resident population is 6.8 years. That could help them plan. But to look up the life expectancy of an individual resident? Nonsense. And because the answer, even if it is set in the midst of all kinds of disclaimers, will have an impact on the family and resident who hear or read it, I think it is a pretty risky practice to look up such things.
Here is one thing we know with certainty: Our loved ones are going to die. We are going to die. Ain't nobody what don't die.
You know that the number one cause of death is some form of heart disease. That said, you can start looking at the causative factors: High Blood Pressure, Abnormal EKG, Abnormal Echo, and Obesity. Unless you get tossed under a bus, or die of cancer, chances are these factors can tell HOW you will die, but not when. If you reach 80, start looking at the calendar. Don't buy Five-Year C D's .