Benefits of Rehab After a Heart Attack.
February 2, 2018 by Valerie Shaw
After your parent suffers a heart attack, it is important as their family caregiver that you encourage them to make the decisions that are right for their needs and to maintain better health as they move forward in this new chapter in life. Part of this might be starting cardiac rehabilitation. If they are eligible for it, this type of treatment can be a valuable part of your parent’s recovery and their goal to stay healthier and stronger as they age in place. By understanding these benefits, you can be better prepared to discuss them with your loved one and their doctor so that they can determine if participating in rehab is right for them.
Some of the benefits that your parent might experience from participating in cardiac rehabilitation after suffering a heart attack include:
- Better understanding of their condition.Cardiac rehab takes several approaches to improving your parent’s health, and one of them is education. When they go through this rehab, your parent will learn not only more about their specific experience and heart health, but also how their lifestyle and other health issues impacted their heart health and potentially led to their heart attack. This can help them to make better decisions throughout their later years.
- Stress coping mechanisms.Stress can be a major strain on your parent’s heart. Rehab can help them to not only identify what might be causing them stress in life, but also give them ideas for how they might be able to cope with that stress. This can be extremely beneficial for their heart health as well as their overall well-being.
- Better treatment management.Medication compliance and following through with guidelines and instructions set forth by their doctor is absolutely critical to your parent recovering effectively and staying healthier as they age in place. Keeping up with their medications and treatments, however, can be challenging. Rehab can help your parent better understand their medications and how they should take them, enabling them to manage them effectively and get the most benefit from them.
Do they need a caregiver? If your elderly loved one has recently suffered a heart attack, now may be the ideal time for you to consider starting home care for them. A care provider can be a valuable support to the care that you already give them, supplementing your efforts and creating a course of care, support, assistance, and encouragement designed to address their individual needs, challenges, limitations, personality, lifestyle, and goals. This means that they can make the most of their recovery period to help support their ongoing health and reduce the risk of suffering a subsequent heart attack, and then move forward to enjoy the highest quality of life possible as they age in place. If they are engaged in cardiac rehabilitation, this care provider can be an extra set of eyes and hands to give your parent the support and encouragement that they need to manage their daily needs and challenges, while also ensuring that they follow through with the guidelines and instructions of their rehab plan. This can give you confidence and peace of mind that your parent is on the right track toward achieving their health goals in their later years.
Source
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/CardiacRehab/Cardiac-
Rehab_UCM_002079_SubHomePage.jsp
