Over at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, the Vital Signs September 2012 issue focuses on controlling good pressure. The article, Getting Blood Pressure Under Control: Many Missed Opportunities to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke, explains that many people are not treating their blood pressure and many others are taking medication but not monitoring enough … Continue reading
Filed under heart health …
Does High Tech Mean a Better Outcome?
Many of our aging parents live with heart issues, and making treatment decisions is not easy. Weighing all the evidence is especially difficult when we must decide between a high-tech, surgical procedures (heart bypass surgery or cardiac catheterization) or medications combined with lifestyle changes, and it’s even more confusing when both of these treatment options have … Continue reading
Figuring Out How to Adjust a Much-loved Thanksgiving Recipe, Low Sodium Diet, VIII
Recap: My dad has congestive heart failure, so he is on a low sodium diet. My husband and I decided that we too could join my parents’ adventure with low-sodium eating. I’ve been posting occasional updates about our experiences (read my first low-sodium post in the series). My Thanksgiving 2011 stuffing experiment is working! We … Continue reading
Thanksgiving Stuffing: Low Sodium Diet # VII
I am aiming to prepare a low-sodium Thanksgiving dinner. I’ve just read an article, Experts Warn: Thanksgiving Poses Hidden Sodium Dangers, describing the dangers of stealth sodium in Thanksgiving foods. The Associated Press article, which appeared in NJ.com points out that people can reach and exceed the appropriate daily sodium intake just in the one … Continue reading
We Kept to the Lower Sodium Program on Vacation: Low Sodium Diet #VI
Our family vacation lasted nearly ten days, and all four of us, sometimes five, stayed on our low-sodium eating plan the whole time by doing the following. We planned our lunch and dinner menus. We kept lots of fruit and nuts around. I stored a small measuring cup with the nuts so that whenever a … Continue reading
Golf Carts Drive Off-Course, but Not By Seniors
Why do people who could (and should) be walking spend so much time in golf carts? Our wonderful cottage community is a delightful place to live with amazing and thoughtful people who come from near and far to spend time each summer. I think that it is one of the most pleasantly walkable places on … Continue reading
Cooking and Eating on Vacation: Low Sodium Diet, Part V
We are vacationing at our family’s cottage in the North Country of New York state. We have lots of time to cook and eat, and it’s actually been fun to focus a bit more on low-sodium meals. Our relaxed experience here may give us a leg up when we go home to our more crowded … Continue reading
5 Lessons Learned About Cutting Back on Sodium: Low-Salt Eating, Part IV
Read other Low Salt Journey installments: Senior Parents Get Started in Their 80′s: Part I, Hospital Cafeterias With No Low-Sodium Options? Part II, Making Sense of Sodium Labels and Numbers: Part III, and 5 Lessons Learned About Cutting Back on Sodium: Low-Salt Eating: Part IV. I’ve already learned five lessons as my husband and I move along, with my parents, on this low-sodium … Continue reading
Low Salt Diet, Part III: Making Sense of Sodium Labels and Numbers
Read other Low Salt Journey installments: Senior Parents Get Started in Their 80′s: Part I, Hospital Cafeterias With No Low-Sodium Options? Part II, Making Sense of Sodium Labels and Numbers: Part III, and 5 Lessons Learned About Cutting Back on Sodium: Low-Salt Eating: Part IV. Are you having trouble understanding the various terms and numbers on sodium labels? We are, too. Here’s the best explanation … Continue reading
Low Sodium Diet, Part I: Senior Parents Get Started in Their 80’s
Read other Low Salt Journey installments: Senior Parents Get Started in Their 80′s: Part I, Hospital Cafeterias With No Low-Sodium Options? Part II, Making Sense of Sodium Labels and Numbers: Part III, and 5 Lessons Learned About Cutting Back on Sodium: Low-Salt Eating: Part IV. My father left the hospital just over two weeks ago, after his heart attack. His discharge instructions directed him to … Continue reading
Aging Parents and Atrial Fib
The Kevin MD blog features an interesting post about atrial fibrilliation (afib). The article, Improving Atrial Fibrillation Communication Between Doctors and Patients, provides suggestions that can help improve communication between physicians and patients with diagnosed or suspected afib. Written by Mellanie True Hills, a patient advocate from Texas, the post suggests physician/patient afib do’s and don’ts. Over 18 months, my husband’s … Continue reading
Senior Parent Hospitalization, Report #6: Learning About Cardiac Procedures and Surgeries
My dad’s recent heart attack turned out to be treatable — still serious, but not as much as first surmised. In the process of various diagnostic physician visits, he (and we) discussed a number of procedures with his doctors including a possible cardiac catheterization. We watched this slide show, A Visual Guide to Heart Disease, at … Continue reading
Congestive Heart Failure-Reliable Resources to Help Adult Children Learn More
Since my dad was in the hospital due to complications of congestive heart failure, I’ve compiled these resources to help me learn a lot more about the condition. Five Tips to Keep in Mind When You Search for Medical Information on the Web (Subtitle: Be Sure You Are Reading Accurate Information.) Use sites affiliated with research institutions, … Continue reading
Senior Parent Hospitalization, #3: Four Ways to Reduce Stress for Patient Families
If you like this post, please read my Senior Parent Hospitalization posts: Report #1: This Hospital Gets It, Report #2: Peace and Quiet, Report #3: Four Ways to Reduce Stress for Patient Families, Report #4: Observations from My Dad, Report #5: The Emergency Room Worked Fast, and Report #6: Learning About Cardiac Procedures and Surgeries. Still here at the hospital with … Continue reading
Senior Parent Hospitalization Report #2: Peace and Quiet
If you like this post, please read my Senior Parent Hospitalization posts: Report #1: This Hospital Gets It, Report #2: Peace and Quiet, Report #3: Four Ways to Reduce Stress for Patient Families, Report #4: Observations from My Dad, Report #5: The Emergency Room Worked Fast, and Report #6: Learning About Cardiac Procedures and Surgeries. The last time I spent a … Continue reading
Senior Parent Hospitalization, Report #1: This Hospital Gets It
If you like this post, please read my Senior Parent Hospitalization posts: Report #1: This Hospital Gets It, Report #2: Peace and Quiet, Report #3: Four Ways to Reduce Stress for Patient Families, Report #4: Observations from My Dad, Report #5: The Emergency Room Worked Fast, and Report #6: Learning About Cardiac Procedures and Surgeries. I am sitting in a beautiful … Continue reading
Strokes Don’t Just Happen to Aging Parents
Many middle-aged adults listen to Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion commentaries on life, and a good number of us have been tuning into the radio program for 30 years or so. Few aspects of daily experience escape his humorous and sage observations — families, travel, children, politics, writing, arts — you name it, and not surprisingly, … Continue reading
Taking Your Blood Pressure? Tips from the New York Times
I’ve just finished reading the best information about taking blood pressure in a December 13, 2010 New York Times article posted in the Science section. For years I’ve wondered about some of this information, and though I take my blood pressure on a regular basis, I could never get the answers to my questions. Read … Continue reading
Aging Mothers-Adult Daughters: Dreams of Chocolate
Just about everyone dreams of eating chocolate. Well, not everyone. My husband is someone who really doesn’t care for it that much. But recent research brings some interesting news for the rest of us — a little indulgence may be OK. According to an August 16, 2010 study, Chocolate Intake and Incidence of Heart Failure: … Continue reading
As Our Parents Age So Do We 