Since heart disease touches the lives of many seniors and their families, at Home Instead Senior Care we believe it’s important to spread awareness about the signs and symptoms of heart disease, so that serious complications or death are prevented with diagnosis and treatment. A woman in our network explains how her mother’s symptoms lead to the discovery of heart disease.

One day I received a terrifying phone call; before I even had the opportunity to say “hello”, the voice on the other line said “I think I might be having a hard attack.” The caller was my mother, who at the time was 72 years old with no previous history of heart trouble, as far as we were aware. While my first instinct was to rush to her side, living with states between us made that impossible, so instead I tried to get a grasp on what she was experiencing. Based on her disposition, I suspected she wasn’t actually suffering from a heart attack, but I knew it was important to be supportive and make a point to understand.

The first symptom she mentioned was a severe ache in her chest, but she also complained of dizziness. I encouraged my mom to hang up with me and contact the office of her physician to determine the best way to proceed in order to deal with her symptoms. The doctor said that if she felt the symptoms were severe, she should go immediately to the emergency room at the local hospital; otherwise she could come in for an appointment at his office later that afternoon so he could assess what she was experiencing.

My mom felt that her symptoms were not severe enough to go to the hospital, but opted to take the doctor’s appointment with my encouragement. Speaking to her after she returned home to the doctor, I learned that heart disease was the suspected diagnosis. Her physician said that she did the right thing, even though she was only exhibiting some of the symptoms of heart disease; dizziness and chest pain, and not nausea, shortness of breathe, an elevated heart rate, loss of consciousness, or palpitations.

He explained that elders who suffer from heart disease, can experience any mix of the above symptoms, which can also include heart attack or stroke. He also said that in the future, if she experiences symptoms of a heart attack which he explained, had severe chest pain or loss of consciousness, then emergency medical treatment should be sought.

Sources: http://heartdisease.about.com/od/howtoloweryourrisk/a/heartdiseaseRX.htm
http://heartdisease.about.com/od/coronaryarterydisease/a/heartsymptoms.htm
http://www.4woman.gov/faq/heart-disease.cfm

Greater Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative & Central Phoenix Assisted Living Alternative helps elders and seniors live safely at home. Call 623.583.5868, 602.265.8228 or 480.991.3959 for Home Care and Independence.