Every May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month, which means it’s the perfect opportunity to talk with your elderly family member about her own blood pressure levels. If she’s recently been told that her blood pressure is creeping out of control, there are some things your senior needs to consider in order to stay as healthy as possible. Hiring home care providers can assist her in following the guidelines laid out.
Sometimes Blood Pressure Treatments Work Better than Expected
Whether your elderly family member is taking blood pressure medications or is using lifestyle changes to manage her high blood pressure, she may find that lower blood pressure feels odd at first. That can be because those changes lower her blood pressure more than she realizes. It’s important that she is careful to do things like get up slowly from a seated or prone position to allow her blood pressure to adjust. If she avoids doing so, she may be at greater risk of experiencing a fall.
Staying in a routine with blood pressure treatments of any kind is crucial. Blood pressure treatments used consistently give your elderly family member a chance to make significant progress with her high blood pressure levels. Home care providers can do a fantastic job of helping your elderly family member to find a daily routine that helps her to meet all of her health needs, including keeping her high blood pressure under control.
Lifestyle Changes Can Mean Other Treatments Need to Change Too
Doctors often recommend lifestyle changes for high blood pressure before medications, especially if your elderly family member isn’t at immediate risk of serious health issues due to high blood pressure. It’s vital to pay attention to what changes are working well for her and how her blood pressure is changing because if she is taking medication, her dosage may need to change. As your senior’s blood pressure comes down, she may need less treatment in order to maintain the changes. It’s possible to go too far in the other direction, especially if she has been prescribed medications.
Test Blood Pressure Regularly at Home to Keep up with What’s Happening
Possibly the best way to keep tabs on what is happening with your senior’s blood pressure is to test her blood pressure at home. Home monitoring has become incredibly accurate and it’s typically easy to do as well. If your elderly family member needs reminding to test, home care providers can help her to stay on track with her home testing routine. Caregivers can also help your senior to keep track of her results and any symptoms that she might be experiencing.
Hire Home Care Providers to Assist in Monitoring Your Loved One
Talk with your senior’s doctor about what she needs to be aware of in terms of high blood pressure and treating it, both now and in the future. Understanding what’s at stake for her personally if her blood pressure remains too high can be an important part of helping her to make the right changes now to get her blood pressure where it needs to be.