Understanding Heart Attacks
Home Health Care Sunrise FL
As a family caregiver for your aging parent, it is important that you are aware of the risks that your aging parent faces so that you can make the decisions that are right for them to help reduce this risks and protect their healthy, active, fulfilling lifestyle. One of these risks is heart attack. By educating yourself about heart attacks, you can better prepare yourself to give your parent the level of care that they need and deserve as they age in place.
Some things that you should know about heart attacks include:
- Approximately 1 in 4 deaths throughout the United States each year is related to cardiovascular disease.
- This accounts for approximately 610,000 deaths each year.
- Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death throughout the United States for both men and women.
- Each year throughout the United States, approximately 735,000 people suffer from a heart attack.
- Of these people, around 535,000 occur in people who have never had a heart attack before.
- The remaining heart attacks occur in those who have already had a heart attack, furthering their risk of suffering another and increasing the chances of severe complications associated with it.
- Deaths associated with heart disease are largely equal among blacks and whites, and are lower among Asians, American Indians, and Alaska Natives.
- Approximately 92 percent of people acknowledge chest pains as the primary sign of a heart attack.
- Only 27 percent of people report knowing all of the signs and symptoms of a heart attack.
- Only just over a quarter of people report knowing that they should call for emergency medical services when someone is showing signs of suffering a heart attack.
- Just under half of all sudden deaths associated with heart attack occur outside of a hospital setting.
- In many situations, sudden death occurs because the person or their caregiver does not recognize the early signs of heart attack so the victim does not get the care that they need when they need it.
If your parent has recently suffered from a heart attack or is at increased risk of suffering a heart attack, now may be the ideal time for you to consider hiring home health care for them. If your parent has already suffered from a heart attack, this in-home senior care services provider can be there to help your loved one keep up with the care guidelines and recommendations offered by their doctor. This can help them to get the rest that they need to get their body healthy and strong again, and can provide valuable reminders for medications and other treatments that your parent needs to handle. If they have not yet had a heart attack but are at increased risk, having a home health care provider in the home with them can mean improving their lifestyle so that they can reduce this risks. This can mean helping them make better food choices, encouraging them to be more active, or offering support when they are trying to get away from vices that can increase the chances of heart attack, such as smoking or drinking.
Sources: https://www.cardiosmart.org/Heart-Basics/CVD-Stats http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/statistics.htm
