Learn More about the Blood Pressure – Diabetes – Dementia Link

Senior Care in Woolwich Township, NJ – Diet and Medication are the Best Defenses for avoiding High Blood Pressure

It’s important to understand the conditions your senior loved one has been diagnosed with while providing senior care for them. Has she been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or vascular dementia? Research has uncovered a link between Alzheimer’s disease and high blood pressure. When a mini stroke happens, blood supply to the brain is blocked and it results in some death of brain cells. This is sometimes called vascular dementia. Often these mini strokes happen in succession and can go unnoticed on the outside but on the inside some brain cells have been dying.

Reasons to avoid high blood pressure

People who have high blood pressure and diabetes are at higher risk for vascular dementia. High blood pressure also makes a person more likely to develop heart and kidney disease. The great lesson to be learned here is to have regular testing for blood pressure and make sure it’s kept within acceptable limits. This applies to both caregivers and their senior parents.

Dietary considerations

Diet and medication are the best defenses for avoiding high blood pressure. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed a dietary plan called the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) for guiding people to eating healthy and avoiding hypertension. The DASH plan promotes eating vegetables, fruit, low fat dairy, whole grains, fish, poultry and nuts. It also recommends reducing dietary intake of sweets, sugary beverages, sodium, bad fats and red meat. You can find the government guide to lowering blood pressure here at this address http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/public/heart/hbp_low.pdf

How you can help

What can you do to make sure your blood pressure stays within acceptable levels? As a caregiver you are prone to high levels of stress, which has an effect on blood pressure. It’s important to make sure you have time off so you can have a break from caregiving duties. You also need regular exercise. Following the DASH dietary plan or another heart-healthy plan to keep your blood pressure down is essential.

You can help your elderly loved one by explaining the steps she needs to take as prescribed by her doctor. They may include watching sodium intake, eating healthy, exercising, taking some medication and getting her blood pressure levels checked regularly.

How senior care services can help

A caregiver for your elder parent can give you some time off. Everyone needs a break and caregivers are no exception! You need to be able to socialize with your friends, catch up on your sleep, go shopping, go to work, take care of your family and other necessities of life.

A caregiver can help your parent make a weekly menu plan that sticks to her dietary restrictions. She can take your mom shopping for groceries and assist her in preparing wholesome and nutritious meals.