Care for Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

Having a caregiver who understands how to help the senior you love manage high blood pressure will positively reinforce good habits.

Hypertension, also called high blood pressure, is one of the most common health challenges. It’s sometimes referred to as “the disease of thirds” because about one-third of people who have high blood pressure don’t know it. Another third are aware but do not seek treatment. The remaining one-third are people who do not comply well with their treatment plan despite the potential side effects. Uncontrolled hypertension carries significant complications, including heart disease, heart failure, heart attack, stroke, dementia, cognitive impairment, kidney disease, ocular damage and can even cause mortality. The risk factors increase in older adults, who need more assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs).

Keeping bp levels under control is crucial for the elderly patient to avoid damage to or weakening  of blood vessels, either of which could possibly lead to blood clots. Having the support of an Amada caregiver who is trained to help manage symptoms of hypertensive patients can positively reinforce good habits as the senior works on maintaining his or her overall health.

Amada caregivers are trained to help seniors think of prevention, detection, evaluation when it comes to the treatment of hypertension in their daily lives. We work with families to understand the target bp goal prescribed by the senior’s physician and work with them to help manage their treatment goals. Blood pressure control does not have to have a negative impact on the lives of seniors. Amada can help work the management of hypertension into the daily activities and care that we provide to your loved one.

Because of their training, Amada caregivers:

• Understand that maintaining a healthy diet can positively impact bp targets. They support the senior’s choice of foods that are low in fat, sodium and cholesterol and prepare meals in accordance to his or her diet plan for bp control.
• Encourage seniors to add more physical activity into their daily routine to lower their cardiovascular risk, such as 30 minutes of walking per day and simple strength training exercises to decrease frailty.
• Know how to assist senior patients with self-monitored blood pressure checks and keep a record of the results to share with the health care team during follow-up health visits.
• Understand the importance of immediately alerting the family and office should the senior patient’s blood pressure spike to a high bp reading of 180/110 or more.
• Compassionately communicate with older patients to help them stay on track with their medication, lifestyle changes such as exercise and diet and offer praise and encouragement when they do a good job of taking care of themselves and maintain lower blood pressure.