Tips For Seniors
Eat healthy foods
Dr. Blankstein advises choosing a few plant-based recipes to add to your diet and replacing red meat with legumes (“Four keys,” 2019). Fatty and salty foods increase cholesterol levels, which can cause blockages and heart attacks. Consequently, older people’s diet should contain mainly fruits, vegetables, and food rich in proteins and Omega-3, for example, fish and nuts.
Manage chronic illnesses
Most older people have chronic illnesses or conditions that require management and monitoring. The most common of these is diabetes mellitus, which damages blood vessel, makes them fragile, and reduces blood flow (“How to prevent,” n.d.). Hypertension and obesity are risk factors for heart diseases. Therefore, older people need to follow all the doctor’s recommendations to control their conditions to avoid heart complications.
Get regular check-ups
Regular clinical examinations can help identify problems early in development and prevent heart disease. Cholesterol, triglyceride, cardiogram, and heart screening are required minimum for a check-up. Home blood pressure measurements and daily weighing are also necessary to identify early heart disease symptoms and report them to a nurse.
Use medications correctly
Do not skip, replace, or mix medicines prescribed by your doctor to control different health conditions. For example, some high blood pressure medications can increase the risk of a heart attack instead of reducing it (“Blood pressure,” n.d.). For this reason, do not use medications for treating heart disease symptoms without consulting a nurse or doctor.
Tips For Caregivers
Equip an older person’s home with minimums of obstacles
Heart disease symptoms such as weakness or dizziness can appear suddenly and lead to falls and injury. Moreover, these symptoms can prevent an older person from taking medications on time or calling an ambulance. Consequently, equip an elderly person’s home to provide him or her quick access to medicines, telephone, and basic necessities.
Organize the senior’s medications
Help the older person take the right medications on time, even if you cannot be present. Write notes with short instructions, and sort the medicines into a few doses. Setting a timer or calling home can also help if a senior forgets to take medication on time.
Do not create stressful situations
Stress increases the risk of heart disease, so try not to worry the older person if possible. For example, not all bad news needs to be reported, and sometimes, it is better to agree in an argument to avoid a fight.
Community Resources For Heart Diseases Prevention
- Florida “Heart Health Plus” Program. This programs’ goal is to decrease health inequity in access to resources for the prevention of heart disease. Web.
- “Check. Change. Control” program. This program aims to teach people to use self-monitoring and tracking of blood pressure readings at home. Web.
- Heart Disease Patient Education Handouts. Additional education on risk factors of cardiovascular diseases and their treatment. Web.
References
Blood pressure drug linked to heart failure. (2019). Web.
Four keys to prevent cardiovascular disease. (2019). Web.
How to prevent heart disease. (n.d.). Web.