Hypertension, or high blood pressure, can be a potentially dangerous health issue. It’s referred to as a “silent killer,” because many people don’t realize that they have high blood pressure until it’s diagnosed. These are just a few of the ways that your elderly family member can start to get serious about her risk factors for high blood pressure.
Find Effective Ways to Manage Stress
Stress increases blood pressure, usually on a temporary basis. But extended periods of stress don’t give your senior’s body or blood pressure a break. If your elderly family member doesn’t have effective ways to manage her stress and her emotions, that can take a serious toll on her health. It’s vital that she learns how to use strategies for stress reduction in her own favor.
Keep a Healthy Weight
Losing even a little bit of weight can take strain off of your senior’s heart and reduce inflammation all throughout her body. She should talk to her doctor about what an ideal weight is for her and how her doctor suggests that she achieves that. The most common ways to do this are to start a doctor-approved exercise plan and to modify her diet.
Eat a Healthy Diet
Eating the right foods ensures that your elderly family member has the nutrients that she needs in order to stay healthy and to keep issues like hypertension at bay. As much as people know what to eat, it can be a struggle to stick to a healthy diet. Ideally, your senior should be eating plenty of vegetables and fruits, healthy fats, and lean proteins. If cooking is an obstacle for her, consider hiring elder care providers. They can take care of the cooking and offer a friendly presence at the same time.
Limit Alcohol Intake and Quit Smoking
Certain vices, like smoking and drinking more than a little alcohol, can put a strain on your senior’s body and can contribute to higher than normal blood pressure levels. Your senior might want to talk to her doctor about how she can safely leave these vices behind her and get on a path to lower blood pressure. With the right support, this might be easier than your senior thinks and her overall health will benefit greatly.
Your elderly family member really can make some progress on reducing her risk factors for hypertension. If she’s doing all the right things, she may even be able to completely reverse it.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering elder care in Moraga, CA, please contact the caring staff at Provident Care Home Care today at (209) 578-1210.
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