Tips for caregivers of people with heart disease

General advice for caregivers

Caregivers are those who take care of someone with a chronic illness or disease such as a parent, spouse, sibling, or child. Caregivers often provide emotional as well as physical support to the chronically ill and the job can be very taxing. Caregiver stress levels can run very high and there is a real danger of the caregiver becoming ill themselves if they do not take care of themselves The tips below may help caregivers to balance their critically important role with their own health and well being.

Take care of your own health
It is critical to remember to take care of your own health as well as the health of the person you are caring for. Caregivers are at greater risk for contracting infectious disease than the general public. This is probably due both to the stress that being a caregiver entails, which can reduce the effectiveness of the immune system, and to a lack of time in a busy caregiver’s life to devote to one’s own health.

If someone is dependent on you for regular care, when you get sick both of you will suffer. Keeping up with your vaccinations and continue to have yearly physical examinations and other appropriate medical surveillance (e.g. mammograms, prostate exams) are two things you can do to keep yourself healthy.

Depression is twice as common among caregivers as non-caregivers. While it is normal to feel down sometimes when taking care of a sick relative, it is important to pay special attention to your mood and seek out medical advice if you start to have symptoms of clinical depression. For example, if you find you are losing interest in the things you normally enjoy the most, or getting angry for no reason, or if you are avoiding friends and loved ones, you may want to see a doctor to be screened for depression.

Take time for yourself
Caregivers are often employed in addition to spending large amounts of time taking care of their patients. You should try to take some time for yourself every day. That doesn’t mean you need to watch a three hour movie; sometimes a hot bath is enough, as long as you have some respite from the day where the only person you are focused on is you. This can do wonders for your emotional well being.

Get some exercise
Physical activity often gets neglected when caregiving. Finding time to exercise, even for twenty minutes a day can help you maintain your physical health.

Eat healthy
When people are busy they tend to eat more fast food and junk food, or to skip meals entirely. However, even a little effort can improve your eating habits dramatically. Buy breakfast foods that you can eat on the go. Get fruits and vegetables to eat as snacks - they are affordable and portable. Try to make dinner at home. If you don’t have time to make dinner, get takeout or delivery from a restaurant that has healthy menu options.

Learn how to manage stress
Learning how to manage stress can be difficult, but it can make all the difference for your own health. Stay in touch with your friends and family members. If you need to, ask them for help giving care. Asking for help doesn’t make you a failure; it just means you know your own limits.

Find caregiver resources in your area
Finding support is critical to sustaining yourself as a caregiver. Sharing your experiences with others in a similar situation, or hearing how other people deal with the same challenges that you face can help you gain perspective.


Heart disease specific issues

When caring for someone with heart disease there are some specific things you can do to help keep them well both physically and mentally.

Medication management
Heart disease patients may have as many as five (or more) medications that need to be taken daily. As a caregiver, you should have a system to make sure that the patient takes the medications when and how they are supposed to be taken. You can use alarms or timers to remind the patient when to take each pill and weekly pill dispensers to make sure they only take the dose that is prescribed. You may want to keep a medicine calendar and note every time the patient takes a dose, or have the patient do it themselves. You will also want to refill prescriptions before the patient runs out, so keep tabs on the supply of each medicine.

Make sure that the patient is not taking anything that is contraindicated by their condition or that may interact with their medication. Examples include such things as herbal supplements, antihistamines, and analgesics like aspirin and ibuprofen.

Side Effects
The side effects of heart disease medications can be dangerous so watch the patient to make sure that they stay safe. For example, many blood pressure medications dilate blood vessels, which can make it difficult to adjust to changes in posture such as standing up. Have the patient stand up slowly and then wait for a moment before starting to walk.

Anti-clotting drugs are designed to make it more difficult for clots to form inside the blood vessels and cause heart attack or stroke, but they may also make it more difficult to stop the bleeding from a cut (even one from shaving or brushing your teeth). Help remind the patient to be careful to avoid cuts if they are on an anti-clotting drug and contact the doctor if the patient has bleeding from gums when brushing teeth, blood in the urine, nosebleeds, or unusually heavy bleeding from cuts or wounds.

Diuretics increase urination and so can lead to dehydration, which causes dry mouth, extreme thirst, low urine output, and constipation. If any of these occur, talk to the doctor to make sure the patient is being prescribed the correct dose.

Diet and exercise
Most heart disease patients are asked to adhere to a diet that contains low amounts of sodium, saturated fats, and cholesterol. Depending on overall health, the doctor may also suggest daily exercise. Helping a patient stick to their diet and exercise regimen is critical to their overall health. One way to ensure adherence to a restricted diet is to prepare meals for the patient. If this is not feasible, you can try to limit the amount of forbidden foods that are present in the patient’s home. Also, a little encouragement can go a long way. If possible, you can even stick to the diet with them.

The level of exercise required of a patient will depend on their overall health, but for most patients, frequent walks are beneficial. If you have time to accompany them on their walk it will make the experience more enjoyable and increase adherence. The same is true of more strenuous exercise: if you do it together you will both reap the health benefits.

Emotional support
Perhaps the most important role of a caregiver is providing emotional support. Simply being there to listen to the patient’s concerns and to provide encouragement can keep them on the path toward better health

Recognizing symptoms
For all heart disease patients, it is critical to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of a heart attack. Getting the patient to the hospital with the shortest possible delay decreases the chances of death or disability. If a patient complains of any of the following symptoms

DO NOT DELAY: CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY:
Discomfort, pressure, heaviness, or pain in the chest or below the breastbone
Discomfort radiating to the back, jaw, throat or arm (especially the left arm)
Fullness, indigestion or choking feeling
Shortness of breath
Sweating, nausea, vomiting or dizziness
Extreme weakness or anxiety
Rapid or irregular heartbeats

Have a plan of action
If the patient is at high risk for a heart attack, preparing a plan in advance can help speed treatment. You can make a card that lists the symptoms of heart attack and that includes the names and locations of nearby trauma centers. You can carry one yourself, give one to the patient and other family members, and leave some next to the phones in the patient’s home.



Source: healia.com