How’s Your Heart?

Heart disease tends to run in families and your own family member might be facing issues related to heart health. If you’ve been ignoring your own heart health while simultaneously helping your senior to deal with the effects of heart disease, you need to include yourself in your efforts. Keeping your own heart as healthy as possible allows you to do more as a caregiver.

Blood Pressure Can Silently Rise

Caregiver Belle Meade TN – How’s Your Heart?

Blood pressure is known as the silent killer for aging adults and you might already be addressing this for your elderly family member. But did you know it could be sneaking up on you right now? It’s a good idea to start paying attention to possible signs that your own blood pressure needs help. When you test your senior’s blood pressure, test your own, too. Talk to your doctor about your own risk factors for high blood pressure and start taking steps now.

Cholesterol Doesn’t Leave Many Clues, Either

Cholesterol levels can rise just as silently as your blood pressure levels can. Talk to your doctor about your current cholesterol levels and get them checked periodically. You might be able to reverse the situation now with diet and exercise, which means you can put off taking medication unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Make Healthier Food Choices Overall

If you’re not already trying to eat healthier, give it a shot. Many people worry that it’s difficult to eat healthy when they’re so busy, but it really isn’t. Start prioritizing eating fruits and vegetables along with lean proteins and healthy fats. As you eat better more regularly, your body will start to appreciate and to crave these healthier food options.

Address Whatever Issues You Can

Everybody has those little vices here and there. If you’re a smoker or you don’t exercise much, these are options you can start to address now. Talk to your doctor about what can be done to help you to manage whatever issues you’re facing. With a little bit of help, you can make some big changes, like quitting smoking, that you might not have thought were possible. These can make a huge difference in your heart health over time.

Being a caregiver means taking care of yourself as well. By taking care of some of these aspects of heart health for yourself, you can help to ensure that you’re going to get through caregiving intact. You’ll also improve your future odds for avoiding big problems with heart disease and other complications.