Home Care in Delray Beach FL
February is American Heart Month, the ideal opportunity for you to find out everything you can about cardiovascular health, risk factors, and what you can do within the context of your care journey with your aging father to protect him from a dangerous cardiovascular event.
Understanding the risk for heart attack that your father faces can help you to understand not only the risks that you cannot change, but also those that you can change so that you and your father’s caregiver can make modifications to his care that will help to reduce these risks and protect him in any way that you can from suffering a potentially detrimental heart attack.
According to the American Heart Association, heart attack risk are grouped into several categories, including:
- Major risk factors that you cannot change. There are some risk factors that simply cannot be changed. These are characteristics that your father had at birth or that are intrinsic to his existence due to aging. Some of these factors include being age 65 or older, being male, being of African American, Mexican, American Indian, Hawaiian, or Asian descent, or having a family history of heart disease.
- Major risk factors that are changeable. In addition to the major risk factors that your father may have that you cannot change, there are also major factors that put your aging loved one at greater risk of suffering a heart attack but that you can modify through care. These include high total cholesterol readings, smoking, having high blood pressure, being overweight or obese, having diabetes, or maintaining a largely sedentary or inactive lifestyle.
- Lifestyle factors. There are some other lifestyle choices that can put your aging father at higher risk of suffering a heart attack but that are not as pressing and that can be changed. Having higher levels of stress, consuming an excessive amount of alcohol, and maintaining a diet high in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sugars are all linked to cardiovascular health problems.
Fortunately, there are many ways that you and your aging father’s caregiver can help to reduce his risk of suffering a heart attack and stay healthier and stronger throughout the rest of his aging years.
Try some of these tips for creating and maintaining a healthier lifestyle for your father that will help protect his heart during American Heart Month and throughout the rest of the year:
- Cut out bad habits. Provide support and encouragement to help your father quit smoking and cut down or eliminate alcohol. Some experts believe that consuming a small amount of alcohol can actually improve cardiovascular health, so be sure to talk to your father’s doctor about the situation and use this thoughts to help you guide your father in healthier living.
- Encourage a healthier diet. Reduce the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol that your father eats, including reducing red meat, butter, eggs, and dairy products, and support better choices such as more dietary fiber and fresh produce.
- Get active. Make physical activity a fun and engaging element of your care journey with your father. Find activities that you both enjoy doing and make them a frequent part of your routine. This physical activity not only supports improved physical health and strengthens the heart, but also reduces stress for further diminished heart attack risk.
If you or a family member near Delray Beach, FL are in need of home care, call the caring professionals at Star Multi Care today at (954) 870-4770. Providing Service in Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Pompano Beach, Delray Beach, Coconut Creek, Taramac, Margate, and surrounding Florida cities.
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