February is designated as American Heart Month to advocate about cardiovascular health and raise awareness about heart disease. During this month of Valentine’s Day and “love,” American Heart Month serves as the perfect opportunity to focus our attention on ways to promote and maintain heart health. Since 1963, American Heart Month has been celebrated as a way to educate Americans to join the battle against heart disease.
What Seniors And Their Caregivers Can Learn From American Heart Month
American Heart Month aims to urge the public to learn more about your heart, how to take care of it, and how to detect signals of cardiovascular disease. And there are ways that seniors and our elderly adults can fully embrace heart health.
In honor of American Heart Month, Unicity Healthcare will take a look at some of the ways you can help improve heart health. Even if you or a loved one is currently living with heart disease, there are many things you can do to improve your odds of living a long and healthy life.
What Is Heart Disease?
The phrases “heart disease” and “cardiovascular disease” are used interchangeably to describe the various conditions that affect your heart. Heart or cardiovascular diseases include blood vessel diseases, heart rhythm problems, and congenital heart defects.
The most common form of heart disease in the United States is coronary artery disease (CAD), which occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart become hardened and narrowed due to a buildup of cholesterol, known as plaque. CAD can lead to health issues such as heart attack, heart failure, angina (chest pain), stroke, and irregular heartbeat.
Every year, one in four people will die from heart disease. Heart disease can strike anyone, but certain individuals may be more at risk than others. Some of the most common risk factors for heart disease include:
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Poor diet
- Inactive lifestyle
- Cigarette smoking
- Excessive alcohol consumption
Heart disease is still the main source of death in the United States. In fact, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the world. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), many of these deaths would have been preventable with proper preventative care.
Recognizing The Symptoms Of Heart Disease
Many people believe that cardiovascular diseases (CVD) inevitably comes with old age, there are many things that seniors can do to strengthen their heart and circulatory system.
While there are several different forms of heart disease, they share common symptoms and warning signs. It’s important to learn these symptoms to receive a prompt diagnosis and medical treatment. Symptoms of an emergency may include:
- Chest pain, discomfort or an uncomfortable pressure in the chest
- Shortness of breath
- Pain in the upper body, arms, back, neck, jaw or upper stomach
- Feeling nauseous or vomiting
- Sweating; or cold sweats
- Weakness, light-headedness, feeling faint or dizzzy
- Feeling very full or having indigestion
- Fatigue or exhaustion
- An irregular heartbeat, palpitations, or increased heart rate
Steps Towards Preventing Heart Disease
Risk factors often develop as you age; things such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol increase your chances of having a stroke or developing heart disease. Whether your senior loved ones live at home, in an assisted living community or at a nursing home, you can make healthy changes to lower the risk of developing heart disease. Likewise, controlling and preventing risk factors are that much more important if you already suffer from heart disease.
Luckily, there are many ways to keep your heart in great shape, even as you age. Although statistics show that heart disease risks increase with age, with correct, healthy lifestyle habits and a heart-healthy diet, you can help protect your senior loved ones.
How To Reduce Your Heart Disease Risks
Many health conditions can contribute to heart disease and increase your risk of having a heart attack. Heart disease and heart attack prevention requires that you treat all other contributing health problems and keep them under control. Some examples:
- Lower high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels;
- Keep diabetes under control;
- Take prescribed medications that can help treat the various aspects of heart disease; nitrates, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers may be recommended. Your doctor may also suggest taking a daily aspirin to help reduce the risk of a heart attack.
Heart-Healthy Habits For Seniors
The American Heart Association provides Heart Healthy Tips for Seniors for improving your heart health. It’s possible to reduce the risk for heart disease by making certain lifestyle changes, and managing medical conditions sooner rather than later.
You can keep your heart healthy no matter how old you are, by making changes in your everyday habits. Here’s how to get started:
- Get enough exercise. Physical activity is one of the best ways to improve heart health. The American Heart Association recommends that individuals perform at least 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise.
- Quit smoking. If you’re still smoking, it’s time to quit. There are many benefits to living a smoke-free life including improved circulation, reduced risk of certain types of cancer, and feeling more energetic.
- Eat a heart-healthy diet. Load up on fresh fruits and vegetables while limiting saturated fats, salt, and foods containing cholesterol, like fatty meats. A Mediterranean diet focuses on eating a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and fish and seafood instead of red and processed meats.
- Reduce your alcohol intake. Excess alcohol consumption can worsen health conditions that contribute to heart disease, such as high blood pressure, arrhythmias, and high cholesterol levels.
- Watch your weight. To help prevent heart disease, maintain a healthy body weight for your size. Too many pounds can add up to increased heart disease risk.
- Get better sleep. It’s critical for seniors (and everyone) to have a good night’s sleep. Most experts say that seniors should sleep between seven and nine hours each night. Sleep is beneficial for brain functionality, metabolism, immune functionality and emotional well-being.
- Reduce stress factors. According studies, stress can compound many heart disease risks that older adults already face, like high blood pressure. Take the time to find healthy outlets to relieve stress and lower your risk of heart disease.
With increased awareness, education and lifestyle changes, we can help more Americans live longer, fuller, healthier lives and be an advocate for healthy habits.
American Heart Month should be used as a reminder to take care of your body and your health as you age, to reduce your risk of developing heart disease and other health conditions. It’s never too late to start living a healthy lifestyle and reducing your heart disease risks!