TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Promoting Good Health A1 - Lloyd-Jones, Donald M. A1 - McKibbin, Kathleen M. A2 - Jameson, J. Larry A2 - Fauci, Anthony S. A2 - Kasper, Dennis L. A2 - Hauser, Stephen L. A2 - Longo, Dan L. A2 - Loscalzo, Joseph PY - 2018 T2 - Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 20e AB - Prevention of acute and chronic diseases before their onset has been recognized as one of the hallmarks of excellent medical practice for centuries, and is now used as a metric for highly functioning healthcare systems. The ultimate goal of preventive strategies is to avoid premature death. However, as longevity has increased dramatically worldwide over the last century (largely as a result of public health practices), increasing emphasis is placed on prevention for the purpose of preserving quality of life and extending the healthspan, not just the lifespan. Given that all patients will eventually die, the goal of prevention ultimately becomes compression of morbidity toward the end of the lifespan; that is, reduction of the amount of burden and time spent with disease prior to dying. As shown in Fig. 2-1, normative aging tends to involve a steady decline in the stock of health, with accelerating decline over time. Successful prevention offers the opportunity both to extend life and to extend healthy life, thus “squaring the curve” of health loss during aging. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1180349595 ER -