On Saturday, a 79-year-old grandmother of eight lines up at Kona, Hawaii, the oldest woman in the field. She did her first triathlon at 68, after breast cancer. More on her at the bottom. First, a question worth taking to your next checkup.
THE BIG STORY
Statins after 70, and a split answer
The short version: a big trial finally tested statins in people over 70 with no heart disease. They meant fewer heart attacks and strokes, but not more years free of dementia or disability. If you already take one, don't stop on your own.
Nearly 10,000 Australians aged 70 and up, none with heart disease, a past stroke, diabetes or dementia, took either a daily statin or a dummy pill for about six years.
What it found. For every 1,000 of these people on a statin for a year, about 4 or 5 were spared a heart attack, stroke or related event. What it didn't buy was more years free of dementia or disability. Muscle, liver and blood-sugar problems were more common on the statin, though serious health problems were reported just as often in both groups.
What to do: at your next checkup, ask what your own risk of a heart attack or stroke is, and whether a statin is worth it for you. People who already had heart disease, a stroke, diabetes or dementia weren't in this trial, and these results don't apply to them.
Send this one to your mom (or your daughter) before her next checkup.
On Your Radar
A $90 Medicare payment is on its way. About 20.8 million people in Original Medicare Part B get a one-time $90 toward their premiums, mostly by direct deposit around October 8; a few will get a paper check later in October. It doesn’t go to people whose Part B premium Medicaid pays, to people who pay the higher-income surcharge (IRMAA), or to anyone in a Medicare Advantage plan. Nobody has to apply, so treat a call or text offering to “release” your $90 as a scam.
Savings bonds need a new login before October 28. Yes, another login. This one guards your savings bonds. If your bonds are in an online TreasuryDirect account, set up ID.me before then; starting that day, the old password stops working. Miss it and your bonds are still safe; you just finish setup later.
Do this (for the family helper): 1) Ask Mom if her savings bonds are in an online TreasuryDirect account. 2) Sit down with her before October 28, with her Social Security number and a photo ID. 3) Say: "Treasury says this takes 5 to 10 minutes. Let's do it now."
Office 2021 stops getting security fixes after October 13. To see which Office you have, open Word and go to File, then Account. Windows 10 can keep getting security fixes until October 12, 2027, if your PC is enrolled in Microsoft's extended updates. That's free if you sync your settings, or $30. To check, go to Settings, then Update & Security, then Windows Update.
A common thyroid pill was recalled. Some lots of levothyroxine made by Accord Healthcare tested weaker than labeled. If your pharmacy label names Accord, or names no maker, ask your pharmacist about your bottle. Don't stop taking it on your own.
The frozen berry recall grew. It now includes Great Value Organic Blueberries and one lot of Trader Joe's Organic Mixed Berry Blend, not just the Great Value Triple Berry Blend. If you have any of them in the freezer, check the lot codes at the FDA link, or just toss the bag.
More Stories
Insulin once a week. The FDA approved a second weekly insulin for type 2 diabetes, Lilly's Onswik. For someone on a daily long-acting shot, that could mean 52 injections a year instead of 365. Ask the doctor if it fits.
Savers are getting paid again. After the Fed raised rates in September, a 10-year Treasury paid more in late September than at any time since 2002. Good for CDs and savings; bad for credit card balances.
American grandparents see the grandkids less than most. In a 15-country survey, only 39% of U.S. grandparents of school-age kids see them in person at least once a week; only Japan was lower. If you don't see yours every week, you have plenty of company: most U.S. grandparents don't.
"Grandmaslop." That's the internet's name, per VICE, for AI pictures grandparents make of their grandkids, like two grandchildren shown playing in a park who have never met. Some families are not amused. Worth asking before you post one.
WORTH KNOWING
The $0 stand-alone drug plan is gone for 2027
Unless you get Extra Help (Medicare's program for people with limited income), no stand-alone drug plan will cost $0 next year, according to KFF. And AARP Medicare Rx Preferred, from UnitedHealthcare, goes up at least $50 a month in every state.
KFF's bottom line: many people will see modest increases, but others could pay much more if they don't switch. If you're in one of those plans, compare on Medicare's plan finder once switching opens October 15. Switching can shrink the increase, though if you don't get Extra Help and paid $0 this year, you won't find a $0 plan next year. Our Medicare page has the dates and the free help in one place.
Prefer to watch? Our 17-minute video goes step by step through what to check before Open Enrollment ends December 7 (read by an AI voice).
From the Archives
If your nights have been rough for months, the first thing to ask about may not be a pill. CBT-I is a short program with a trained therapist, recommended as the first treatment for chronic insomnia, and Medicare Part B can cover it.
SLICE OF LIFE
At 79, the oldest woman at Kona
In 2007, at 60, Linda Ashmore became the oldest woman at the time to swim the English Channel. When someone broke that record, she took it back in 2018, at 71.
At 65 the former teacher from Dorset, England, was diagnosed with breast cancer, and tests also found osteoporosis. Her doctors suggested impact exercise. At 68 she showed up to her first sprint triathlon "wearing my swimming costume and trainers and riding an old bike."
She has since finished a dozen Ironmans and won a world title for women 70 to 74. On Saturday, October 10, this grandmother of eight lines up at Kona, Hawaii, again, the oldest woman in the field. Live coverage starts at 10:30 a.m. Eastern on ironman.com.
Her advice for the rest of us: "Yes, you can. You've just got to make the effort to keep moving."
If the sky is clear this week, look east after dark. Saturn was opposite the sun on October 4, which means it rises around sunset and is up much of the night all week.
And if you'd like a quiet moment, our team wrote a short prayer, Lord, Walk Beside Me. It was our most-watched new video this week. Watch it here (words on screen, with music).
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Until next week,
Nino
P.S. Linda started triathlons at 68. What did you, or your mom, start later than anyone expected? One line is plenty. Hit reply, or tell other readers in our Facebook group.
Our guides, tools and the Medicare dates are all at seniormediahub.com.
