Caregivers Offer Personalized, Heart-Healthy Support
When your loved one is struggling at home due to a chronic heart condition, your first concern is taking care of their basic care needs. You may decide that a private duty caregiver is the best choice to ensure that daily routines, tasks, and errands progress as usual.
Private home care duties include housekeeping, grooming, transportation, and other essential tasks of daily living. Caregiving fills in the gaps when you and your family cannot provide help or even when 24/7 care is necessary.
However, you’re also concerned about your loved one’s next level of care: ensuring that they receive every available resource for their heart condition. Along with the medical care your loved one receives, private duty caregivers offer care that supports heart health:
- Meal planning and preparation for cardiovascular health
- Reminders about medication, hydration, rest, and lifestyle changes
- Mobility, walking, or exercise routines
- Emotional support and connection
A Private Duty Caregiver Supports Heart-Healthy Habits
Meal planning and preparation are important private home care duties. Your loved one may not have the energy or ability to think through planning and cooking for themselves.
Nutrition is critical for those with chronic heart conditions. Significant scientific evidence suggests nutrition is “the most preventative factor in cardiovascular death.”
Your loved one’s doctor has likely recommended a heart-healthy diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and unsaturated fats. They may have also suggested limitations on sodium, sugar, and saturated or trans fats that are detrimental to their heart.
Your private duty caregiver can plan and prepare meals that support your loved one’s heart and overall health, while helping them avoid ingredients and meals that might cause further harm. Knowing that your loved one’s nutritional needs are met, you and your family will get peace of mind.
Further reading: “Heart-Healthy Meals to Add to Your Plate”
Reminders Go a Long Way
A quality private duty caregiver is committed to ensuring that your loved one’s day is filled with decisions that benefit their health. Your loved one likely takes medication for their heart condition and has been encouraged by their doctor to rest, stay hydrated, and even avoid certain activities, like smoking.
Private duty caregivers provide structure for these essential activities. Structure is especially important for those who are likely to forget or avoid healthful activities. Medication errors harm at least 1.5 million people in the U.S. per year. You may be familiar with warnings about how smoking, lack of sleep, and other unhealthy habits affect the heart. Hydration has been shown to reduce the risk of heart failure.
A caregiver provides peace of mind by encouraging habits and providing reminders that benefit your loved one’s health. Even if your loved one feels independent and capable enough to live a heart-healthy lifestyle without support, a compassionate reminder never hurts.
Private Duty Caregivers Encourage Movement for Heart Health
The effects of exercise on heart health are well-documented. However, like most of us, your loved one may need encouragement and routine to incorporate movement into their day.
Your private duty caregiver can offer the following activities to support circulation, mobility, and exercise:
- Going for daily walks
- Participating in chores around the house
- Stretching and light yoga
- Simple exercises in a seated position
Your loved one doesn’t suddenly have to “get fit” to see the benefits of movement. Whatever your loved one is capable of has an effect on their heart health.
Don’t Underestimate a Good Heart-to-Heart
Providing connection and companionship is an often-overlooked benefit of hiring a caregiver for your loved one, but a quality private duty caregiver knows how much their presence affects the person they care for.
Your loved one and your private duty caregiver will build a relationship that goes beyond job responsibilities. A private duty caregiver helps your loved one feel understood, valued, and less lonely. Your caregiver may read to them, help them write letters, or share stories.
Loneliness also has an impact on health, including heart disease. When family and friends aren’t available, a private duty home caregiver provides a sense of togetherness that affects emotional and heart health.
Private Duty Care Provides Much More Than You Expect
A private duty caregiver becomes a core part of your loved one’s life. They offer the kind of support typically reserved for family and friends by personalizing their care to support your loved one’s health outcomes. Private duty caregiving has powerful benefits regardless of your loved one’s specific condition.
Read more about the ways that private duty caregivers benefit patients and families:
