Find out how home care helps when a loved one has gone through heart surgery.
During National Heart Month, Home with You Senior Care would like to share a couple of important ways to show your heart some love: learn how to keep your heart healthy, and know how home care helps with recovery if you experience heart surgery.
Look After Your Heart
These simple measures can help maintain heart fitness by keeping cholesterol and blood pressure levels in balance – two key risk factors for cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and stroke.
- Alter your eating habits. We really are what we eat. Try replacing foods that are full of sugar, salt, and saturated or trans-fats with healthier options such as vegetables and fruits, whole grains, lean meats such as poultry and fish, lentils and beans, and low-fat dairy products.
- Reduce your weight. For somebody who is too heavy, losing as little as 5% of total body weight could make a significant difference in blood pressure levels. Incorporating the recommended amount of aerobic workout (thirty minutes most days of the week) is a great way to accomplish this while strengthening your heart. Be sure to talk with a doctor first, and start slowly, working your way up over time.
- Avoid using tobacco and secondhand smoke. Quit – or don’t start – smoking. But be advised that even secondhand smoke can damage the heart.
- Reduce stress. Life, particularly in the middle of a pandemic, is incredibly stressful. Make time for yourself each day for at least fifteen minutes to take part in calming activities that you enjoy: reading, listening to music, going for a walk, talking with a friend, prayer or meditation.
Visit the doctor routinely. At least yearly, arrange for a checkup to make certain that any new issues can be caught and dealt with as soon as possible, and any existing conditions can be kept in order.
If You’ve Had Cardiovascular Problems…
Recovering from cardiac arrest or surgery can be a complex process, generally taking weeks or even months. During this time, you may have:
- Chest pain
- Mood swings or depression
- Appetite changes
- Swelling, numbness, tingling, or itchiness around the incision site
- Difficulty with sleeping
- Shortness of breath
- Short-term memory loss or confusion
- Weakness and lack of energy
One of the best ways to ease this recovery period is to work with Home With You Senior Care, a provider of award-winning home care in Ellicott City and the surrounding communities. Health care professionals commonly recommend having someone in the home for at least the initial few weeks of recovery from cardiac surgery. Our caregivers are fully trained and experienced in watching for changes in condition and reporting them right away, along with providing crucial help in many different ways, such as:
- Help with safely taking showers or baths and getting dressed
- Companionship to take part in conversations and activities to brighten each day
- Meal planning and preparation
- Housekeeping and washing clothes
- Medication reminders
- Motivation and encouragement to follow through with the doctor’s recommended fitness program
- Transportation to follow-up appointments
- Picking up prescriptions and running errands
- And so much more
Want to learn more about how home care helps people with cardiovascular issues? Contact us at 410-756-0959 following (or ideally, before) heart surgery and let us help make the recovery process as easy and comfortable as possible.