Encouraging Your Aging Parent to Live a Healthier Lifestyle to Support Their Heart
Elder Care in Monroe GA
Approximately 610,000 people throughout the United States die from heart disease each year. That accounts for one in four, one-quarter, of all deaths. This is the leading cause of death each year for both men and women, and more than half of the deaths from heart disease each year are men. Not all people who suffer from heart disease will die, however. More than 735,000 will suffer from a heart attack. Others will carry on with the disease but experience limitations to health, activity, and quality of life. Encouraging your aging parent to live a healthier lifestyle aimed specifically at supporting their heart health can protect them from these staggering statistics and help to give them a longer, more fulfilling life.
Some of the lifestyle choices that your aging parent should make to support their heart include:
• Stop smoking. The use of tobacco products has no benefit to the body, but a long list of possible dangers. One is damage to the heart and increased risk of heart disease and all of the health complications that can occur as a result of heart disease. Encourage your loved one to stop smoking as well as use of other tobacco products such as chewing tobacco.
• Control their blood pressure. Having high blood pressure forces the heart to work harder to pump blood throughout the body. This can cause damage to the heart and increase the risk of issues such as congestive heart failure, a condition suffered by nearly 6 million people throughout the United States.
• Eat a better diet. What your parent eats is one of the most pressing elements of taking care of their health. Eating the right foods provides the body with the nutrients that it needs to thrive and function at its peak. Eating the wrong foods, on the other hand, deprives the body of these nutrients and can put additional strain on the heart. Your parent should focus on a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains, and that reduces sodium and saturated fat.
• Get active. Staying physically active is an essential part of being healthy. Regular exercise stimulates the heart, helping it to stay stronger and work better. It also helps your parent to maintain a healthier weight, which reduces strain on the heart, lowers blood pressure, reduces the chances of diabetes, and promotes improves oxygen flow, all of which help to reduce the chances of heart disease.
Starting elder care for your aging parent is one of the best decisions that you can make to help them live a healthier lifestyle. An elderly home care services provider can evaluate your parent's individual needs, challenges, limitations, and preferences and create a personalized approach to care tailored specifically to not only meet these needs, but also to enhance their quality of life. This means that they will be healthier, safer, and more comfortable, but also more active, more engaged, and more capable of handling as many tasks for themselves as possible. When it comes to helping them to maintain their heart health, this can mean going to the grocery store with them to help them make better food choices, assisting with meal and snack preparation, encouraging them to be more active, and providing emotional support and companionship that can make focusing on their health and well-being a stronger priority for your aging loved one.
Source
http://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@hcm/documents/downloadable/ucm_300625.pdf
http://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@hcm/documents/image/ucm_300674.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
If you or an aging loved one are considering elder care in Monroe, GA or the surrounding areas, contact the caring staff at Right At Home of East Atlanta. Call today (678) 712-4002.
