Something that has been on my mind recently is the preventableness of cardiovascular disease. It’s a scientific miracle that we can essentially prevent most cardiovascular disease with lipid lowering drugs, it puts us in a bit of a weird position.
We’re preventing the one single disease of aging that has the possibility of killing you quickly (with a heart attack). Since we have not done much of anything to counteract any of the other diseases of aging (or aging itself) we are essentially condemning everyone to die of much slower diseases that cause drawn-out suffering like cancer and neurodegeneration.
To me, this highlights the importance of treating aging itself as a target, not just a disease at a time. I’m not entirely sure that the place we find ourselves in currently is even an ethical way to practice medicine. We have removed the only “humane” disease of aging and have redirected everyone to the most tragic ones.