by San Diego Home Care

The ABC’s of Caring for the Heart for Older Adults

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Go back to the basics of caring for the heart using these simple guidelines.

Almost half of all Americans have one of the three key risk factors of heart disease: high blood pressure, smoking, and high LDL cholesterol. Too many people make poor lifestyle decisions every day that adversely impact their heart. Excessive alcohol consumption, poor diet, and physical inactivity are just a few things that can do permanent damage. It’s easy to forget to put into practice the fundamental ways of caring for the heart, but it’s one of the most important things to remember. Go back to the basics and look after your heart with the following guidelines: Read more

by San Diego Home Care

Tips for Caring for a Senior After a Heart Attack or Stroke

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Help promote healing when caring for a senior after a heart attack or stroke with these helpful tips.

When a loved one experiences a stroke or heart attack, you will likely want to focus on a list of actions that can be taken to ensure that the damaged heart heals and the individual’s lifestyle choices that contributed to the heart attack are changed. San Diego Home Caregivers often receives calls from families looking for a list of actionable items – to-do lists for care and heart health. In a scenario fraught with chaos, lists give family caregivers a sense of control. They are the handbook for a caregiver’s new reality, helping them know what they can do to promote healing and keep another heart attack from taking place. Read more

by San Diego Home Care

The Right Choices for Making Heart Healthy Meals for Seniors

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Heart shaped dish with vegetables isolated on wooden background

For more tips on heart healthy meals for seniors, call San Diego Home Caregivers!

Our senior care experts realize that it’s challenging to make heart healthy meals for seniors when nutrition recommendations appear to constantly change. We had been told that saturated fats from options such as butter, red meat and fried food were harmful and could affect a person’s chances of developing heart issues, but later research revealed there isn’t enough evidence that those who gave up these delicacies improved their heart health – and so, we went back to our previous ways due to the go-ahead to choose butter instead of margarine.

And yet, as reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, scientists clarify that the lack of apparent results in reducing fatty foods is likely associated with equally poor dietary choices selected in the place of those fats – such as refined carbs. In the study, it was shared that those who exchanged fatty foods in their diet with healthier options, such as olive oil (a polyunsaturated fat) and whole grains did reduce their heart disease risk up to 25%.

As stated by Adela Hruby, one of many researchers in this study, “We know that people don’t just drop 10% of their calories…and not replace them with other things. What they’re adding in to replace what they’re not eating is really important.”

The study, led by Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was amazingly in-depth, monitoring the results of almost 130,000 participants of both genders over thirty years. Keeping an eye on dietary choices and any heart-related conditions, it was determined that both women and men who consumed carbohydrates instead of fatty foods were attaining a nearly equal threat of cardiovascular disease – a statistic overlooked in previous studies that had determined there was no benefit to decreasing the level of saturated fat in a meal plan.

So, what might be the takeaway from this study? Improved heart health may be gained by not just reducing the total amount of saturated fat in a dietary plan, but also by choosing healthier items instead of foods with high levels of sugar or processed flour-based foods.

San Diego Home Caregivers is always available to plan and prepare heart healthy meals that are not just nutritious, but tasty, helping older adults reduce their risk for heart attacks and disease. We are able to also assist older adults with:

  • Making appropriate dietary choices, and shopping for groceries so that fresh, healthy foods are always on hand
  • Medication reminders
  • Carrying out physician-recommended activity programs
  • Safe accompaniment to doctor appointments as well as other outings
  • And more

You can reach us at (619) 487-9000 to find out more about our home care in Carlsbad and the surrounding areas. For more information on on each of the communities where we provide care, please see our Communities Served page.

by San Diego Home Care

10 Tips on Medication Management for Elderly Parents with Heart Disease

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Worried wife supporting sick husband taking drugs for hypertension

Call our care team for help with medication management for elderly parents and to learn more about our home care in Carlsbad and surrounding areas.

If a senior you love has been diagnosed with heart disease, you’re aware that medication management for elderly loved ones is critical. But what specifically does that mean? Here are ten helpful tips from San Diego Home Caregivers, leading provider of elderly care in La Mesa and nearby areas, that can help your loved ones get the most from their medications:

  • Know what medicines they are taking. Find out the brand and generic names and be sure you understand what each one does. Thoroughly read the patient informational sheet so you’re informed about possible side effects.
  • Take the meds at the same time each day. When you partner with San Diego Home Caregivers, your loved one’s home care companion can give reminders when it’s time to take a dose. Don’t stop or modify any medication without talking it over with the doctor first.
  • List out all of the medications. Include the daily dosage for each one. Keep a copy at home as well as one in a wallet or purse.
  • If your loved one is having a hard time paying for the medications, ask the doctor for advice. Don’t skimp on dosages to try to save money. Doing so could be harmful to your loved one’s health.
  • Speak with the doctor before taking over-the-counter medicines or herbal remedies. Some may aggravate heart failure symptoms. These include antihistamines (like Benadryl), antacids and NSAIDS (like Motrin or Advil).
  • Refill prescriptions before running out of medicine. If it is difficult to get to the pharmacy, a caregiver can help you pick up the medication.
  • Take medicines along when travelling and continue to take them on a normal routine. If your loved one will be away from home for a long time, take an extra week’s supply. Be sure to bring a copy of the prescriptions in case a refill is needed.
  • At times, ACE inhibitors may can cause coughing. If your loved one is coughing too much and can’t sleep or perform daily activities, call the physician.
  • If taking diuretics (also referred to as water pills), your loved one probably has to visit the restroom more often. If the doctor has advised one dose of a diuretic each day, take it in the morning. If two daily doses are advised, be sure to take the second one by late afternoon to avoid additional trips to the bathroom during the night.
  • Be alert for signs of dehydration whenever taking diuretics. These might include intense thirst, dry mouth, dark-colored urine or reduced urine output, constipation and feeling lightheaded. If any of these red flags occur, consult the doctor prior to making any modifications in medication or fluid intake.

Professional home care companions from San Diego Home Caregivers can make life with heart disease easier to manage. They can provide support with everyday activities, prepare nutritious meals, offer medication reminders and take your loved one to doctors’ appointments and the pharmacy. Call (619) 487-9000 to learn more about our elderly care in La Mesa and other surrounding areas. For more information on the different areas we serve, please see our Communities Served page.