How to Improve Heart Health as a Senior
As your body ages, the chance of developing cardiovascular disease goes up. This means a senior really needs to focus on overall heart health, and having in-home care keeps them on the right path with healthy habits. When seniors start giving up on things like diet and exercise because they can no longer do what they used to, it’s time to think about hiring help like in-home care professionals. They may be able to help your senior focus on boosting heart health and manage pre-existing conditions through a healthy lifestyle. Here are some ways your senior can boost heart health quickly and efficiently.
Understand Heart Healthy Activities
Exercising regularly is still recommended as a means of maintaining and improving cardiovascular health. However, even with in-home care help, a senior should always consult a doctor before trying a new health routine. If they’re not used to being super active, it can have a negative impact if they push their bodies too hard. Always ask a professional what exercises a senior should do before doing it. Once a professional doctor is consulted, an in-home care specialist can help a senior stick to a specific routine for optimal heart health. Exercise doesn’t mean running marathons or lifting healthy weights, but it can be something simple like a brisk walk every day or stretching with yoga each morning. Find something your senior loves to do with a doctor’s approval and add it to their daily routine.
Quit Bad Habits Like Smoking
You’ve heard it before, smoking is bad for you. Not only is it terrible for your lungs, but it also impacts how strong your heart is too. This is something that can be easier to talk about than actually do. Ask a doctor for help and try finding other habits to replace smoking with. A senior may want to smoke when they feel hungry, stressed, sad, or another emotion they can’t quite place. If that’s the case, they may need to talk about what has them in a bad mood. Be an opening ear and help them de-stress without turning to a smoking session.
Encourage Them to be a Healthy Weight
Fad diets don’t work, and they’re not always the healthiest for a senior. If your senior is focused on weight loss or weight gain, help them focus on eating a well-rounded diet. Focus on eating green vegetables, lean proteins, and some fruits throughout the day. The less processed a diet is, the better it is for a senior’s entire body. Eating right won’t just help a seniors heart; it will help their brain and full body too.
Understand the Numbers
When you start looking into health, you will notice there are a lot of numbers and counts. A senior should get their vitamin levels checked, blood pressure, and even cholesterol checked. Some of the time, in-home care can help monitor specific numbers, but a senior should also get blood work done to watch these numbers too. If something is too low or too high, it can impact heart health, and it’s your job to help a senior understand these numbers and what they can do to fix them.
Source
https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/heart-over-50/heart-health-aging
If you are considering in-home care in Summerlin, NV, for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.