IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING In The Nursing of the Elderly Sick: A Practical Handbook of Geriatric Nursing, published in 1953, T. N. Rudd wrote of his patients, “No longer are we dealing with individuals before whom life is opening as a flower, nor with those who are producers of bread for their families. Bread-winning days are now passed, the sun is folding in its rays and the days of diminishing significance are upon them.”15 Fifty years later the perception of aging has changed, and there is a greater emphasis on diet, exercise, and the treatment of chronic disease. Nonetheless, many still equate growing older with cognitive decline, physical and psychological frailty, and diminishing motor skills.16 As a result, the care given to older adults is often less aggressive than that given to others. The Alliance for Aging Research, for example, notes a “tendency for physicians to underprescribe blood thinners, β-blockers, [angiotensin-converting enzyme] inhibitors, and other cardiovascular drugs to older patients after coronary incidents.”