Congestive Heart Failure and Heart Disease
What it is?
Heart failure is an abnormal cardiac finding, usually due to weakness or stiffness of the heart muscle. This causes the heart to pump ineffectively, and therefore the heart does not circulate enough blood to the body to meet the body’s needs.
When your body does not get the vital supply of oxygenated blood it requires to carry out functions, you develop symptoms that will gradually get worse over time unless it is treated properly.
Some of the symptoms may include:
Weakness
Fatigue
Shortness of Breath
Swollen ankles, legs, or abdominal swelling
Rapid heart rate
Chest pain or discomfort
Dizziness and lightheadedness
Loss of appetite
Orthopnea (positional breathing trouble)
If you suspect you have heart failure symptoms, it is important to speak with your primary care provider.
At Traveling Hearts Home Care, we can support your loved ones by recognizing symptoms of heart disease or heart failure when working with you or your loved one. Our caregivers are trained by a registered nurse who provides on-going staff education on chronic condition management often seen in older populations. Staff are trained on how to identify a change in condition, such as noticing new or worsening fatigue with activity, which can be a symptom of a cardiac insufficiency. Our communication log and individualized care plans play a vital role in making sure the entire care team knows how to best support our clients in the home and our top priority is keeping you safe. Traveling Hearts Home Care can also assist with care coordination such as transportation to medical appointments or assistance with scheduling an appointment. THHC may also help with managing the disease within the home setting, making it easier for your loved ones to conserve energy if they normally experience any shortness of breath with exertion or fatigue easily due to this condition. Having a trusted and caring home maker in the home to manage the laundry, cooking, or cleaning will make it easier on your loved ones heart condition by avoiding unnecessary stress and exertion.
THHC takes the guesswork out of a heart-healthy diet and can assist with management of the weekly food shopping, meal prep and portion sizes that are recommended by your provider or a nutritionist. All of your meals can be tracked with our daily food log. THHC client handbook also comes with an activity log that our caregivers use to monitor your day to day activities. This is especially helpful when determining if certain times of day are more challenging for your loved one or if certain activity causes fatigue or shortness of breath, which is a common concern among those with heart disease. This will help make sure the treatment plan we create is tailored to the care they need. Even more so, you or your loved ones provider will be impressed when you can provide these details at your next follow up appointment. When you know how your loved ones day to day goes, you add valuable information for the provider monitoring your loved ones heart condition. Perhaps the information we have documented shows that you or your loved ones' condition has improved or worsened since your last visit. This may help a provider make a decision to send a referral to a skilled nursing agency, also known as VNA, who could provide additional support in the home such as physical therapy, occupational therapy or skilled nursing. Or maybe it can help your provider make decisions like ordering a stress echocardiogram or adding additional medications. Whatever the condition is, when working with THHC, you can find comfort in knowing that any changes to your loved ones' health will be addressed and monitored in the comfort of your home. After all, our goal is to support you in your home because home is where the heart is!
If you or your loved one are interested in learning more, please contact Traveling Hearts Home Care at travelingheartshc@gmail.com or by calling 617-890-9572 to schedule your free consultation.