A diagnosis of heart failure can make your senior worry that the end is far closer than she thought. But with the right changes to her lifestyle, she can maintain her health for a long time. The key is to make the right changes and to get those changes to stick.

Assess the Lifestyle Changes that Might Be Necessary

For so many people, heart failure is much more manageable with some lifestyle changes. This might involve helping her to change her diet, start an exercise program, and possibly quit smoking or other vices. These changes aren’t easy and they require formulating a plan to help your elderly family member to succeed.

Help Her Work out a System for Keeping Her Health in Check

The systems and routines that your elderly family member adopts now can help her to manage her heart failure more effectively. Work with her doctor to make sure that both of you understand how medications, dietary changes, and everything else all work together. From there you can fine tune some routines that prioritize her health.

Know What to Look for When She’s Having Trouble

Heart failure can cause some problems for your elderly family member if she’s overdoing it or if she’s experiencing a worsening of her symptoms. Make sure that you both know what it looks like when your elderly family member is having trouble. Her doctor can let you know what symptoms mean that she needs more rest and which symptoms mean that she needs medical intervention now.

Develop Some Solutions to Help Her Conserve Her Energy

At various times your senior may need to conserve her energy with normal daily tasks and chores so that she can focus on more important tasks, like keeping herself going. Hiring elderly care providers can give your senior that freedom. They can take over light housekeeping chores which lets your senior use her energy to go for a walk. They can also help her to focus on eating healthier foods at regular intervals, which can be a key part of succeeding with dietary changes.

You can help your elderly family member to be more comfortable and to prioritize her health, even after a frightening diagnosis like heart failure. Make sure that you understand how to help her to stay as healthy as possible and put plans in place to make all of those goals much easier for her to hit.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering Elderly Care in Slayton, TX, please contact the caring staff at Best In-Home Care (806) 412-0723.