Reducing Your Parent’s Risk of Stroke

By Marina Pink | September 2, 2022 |

Home Care Assistance in West Hollywood

Having a stroke can be a strong fear for both an aging parent and an adult child providing care for their parent. A stroke occurs when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked or when a blood vessel breaks. That event can damage or kill cells in the brain.

Stroke can cause brain damage and is a leading cause of death and long-term disability in adults. As you care for your parent, you probably want to help your parent do whatever is needed to avoid a stroke. While there is no guarantee, there are several steps you can take to help reduce your parent’s chance of having a stroke. These are changes he can make personally, your family can help implement, or even his home care assistance provider can help encourage and reinforce.

Keep his blood pressure under control.

The leading risk factor in having a stroke is high blood pressure. High blood pressure doesn’t always have any symptoms, so your parent must regularly check his blood pressure. If your home care assistance provider provides rides to doctor appointments, ask your home care assistance provider to remind your parent to check his pressure with each visit.

If your parent has high blood pressure, then he may get prescribed some medication. Taking that medication regularly will keep his blood pressure under control, along with some diet changes. He may need some help and/or encouragement from you or his home care assistance provider to ensure he takes his medication as needed and avoids foods that elevate blood pressure.

Quit Smoking

Smoking has been shown to increase blood pressure. Your parent doubles his risk for a stroke by smoking. Whether he receives his nicotine from cigarettes or vaping, nicotine raises blood pressure, and carbon monoxide in smoke lowers the amount of oxygen his blood can carry. For those taking care of your aging parent, breathing in that secondhand smoke may increase their chances of a stroke.

Reduce alcohol intake

Too much alcohol can raise blood pressure, and binge drinking (having more than 5 drinks within a two-hour time span), can trigger an irregular heartbeat. Men should try to keep their alcohol intake to no more than two drinks a day. For women, it should be one or less.

Get some Exercise

Not getting regular exercise can lead to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol – all of which can increase the risk of a stroke in your elderly parent. If your parent isn’t used to getting daily exercise, start small. Encourage him to get 30-minutes of exercise a day. He doesn’t even have to do it all at once. He can surely do two 15-minute sessions. Have your parent take a few short walks a day. He can walk with his home care assistance provider, which is certainly a great way to get active.

Eat better

Encourage your parent to stay away from high-fat foods and stick with a healthier diet. To sum up, a diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables.

All these changes can certainly help your parent reduce his risk of stroke.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Home Care Assistance in West Hollywood, CA, please contact the caring staff at Home Care Help. Serving All of Los Angeles County. Call Us Today at (888) 989-7388.

Source:
https://health.gov/myhealthfinder/health-conditions/heart-health/reduce-your-risk-stroke

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Marina Pink

Owner at Home Care Help

Marina Pink is the Owner at Home Care Help. Home Care Help is an innovator in providing services in a caring and professional manner. We have an exceptional history, spanning twenty-three years, of providing care to people in moments that matter most. It is our utmost priority to address every need in a timely manner; and, it is our goal, above all else, to give the level of support that enables our residents to have as much independence as possible with care and respect.