Unusual Causes of Heart Disease in Seniors

By Jessica Ott | May 7, 2020 |

Home Care Abbottstown PA – Unusual Causes of Heart Disease in Seniors

Heart disease is caused by an unlimited number of health and physical factors, along with activities throughout your life. Heart disease is also the leading cause of death among American adults. This is not always brought on by common causes like high cholesterol or blood pressure or even smoking, obesity, or a poor diet. Some abnormal causes or risk factors should be sought out as a part of your senior’s care, especially when your loved ones may be frequently party to those risks.

10 Unusual Risk Factors and Causes of Heart Disease

Traffic noise has the potential to raise blood pressure, along with the stress that comes along with years spent driving in heavy traffic.
Migraines are an unusual cause for various other health conditions like stroke, heart attack, and heart disease. So, if your senior loved ones have spent a lifetime battling migraines, you may want their caregivers to keep an eye out for possible heart disease.
Kids are definitely an odd risk factor for seniors. Those elderly spent so much of their younger adult years devoting a life to caring for kids, and that has possibly led to reduced care for their own health along with the increased stress that comes with those responsibilities. Those long-term family duties could lead to stress followed by high blood pressure, obesity, and other issues.
In addition to children, mothers who have had troubled pregnancies or births may have a higher risk for heart disease later. This could be resulting from the issues that miscarriages, surgery to remove the ovaries or uterus, or even early menopause.
Being short is another very unusual risk factor that has often come up in more frequent onset of heart disease. Apparently, for every 2.5 inches that someone is below average height, they have an 8% increased risk for heart disease. Some studies have related this to higher levels of LDL cholesterol as well.
Loneliness and unhappiness in relationships have the potential to play a role in the risk of heart disease, at least from the studies that various doctors have completed. For those who tend to have more friends and spend time in social circles, whether it is with a spouse or others, there is the potential for exercise and activity which maintains better health.
ADHD medication is very interesting, especially as this is something that became very popular for kids over the years. Despite the ability of these drugs to improve focus they tend to increase blood pressure and heart rate. These factors definitely have the ability to lead to heart disease in the long run.
Long work hours are another factor that leads to greater stress, especially as work tends to become the sole focus of life. Long work hours for any week can include more sitting than those who stick to about 40-hour weeks, while there may also be more drinking, longer time in front of the computer, and other factors that take a toll on your body.
The week after lying in bed with the flu there is a risk for heart disease or a heart attack. A recent study found that the influenza infection placed people in the hospital with a heart attack a week after. This occurred much more often in 2018 than the year before, likely due to blood getting sticky and clotting more easily.
Rage can also flare up your heart rate and blood pressure. It has been found that this happens when an issue is ignored for a significant amount of time, proving that it is better to face an issue right away and in a calm manner. If this has proven to be a long-term issue an anger management class or therapy group can help make sure that this is prevented later.

At all times seniors have the potential for heart disease, but there are many unusual risk factors that possibly played a factor from earlier years. It could come from many other things as well, but it is helpful for home care providers to include the questioning of all lifelong issues that may have influenced or caused heart disease. If early signs start to show up without the most common risk factors apparent in your elderly loved one’s life, it may be helpful to look into everything that they may have experienced in the past.

Sources: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20353118
https://www.healthline.com/health/heart-disease/causes-risks
https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/ss/slideshow-heart-disease-surprising-causes
https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/heart-disease-types-causes-symptoms

If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Services in Abbottstown PA, please talk to us. Our friendly staff can answer all of your questions. In-home Senior Care in Adams and York Counties, PA. Call Today: (717) 698-8258.

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Jessica Ott

Owner at A Helping Hand Home Care Services, LLC

Jessica Ott is the Owner at A Helping Hand Home Care Services, LLC.

A Helping Hand Home Care Services, LLC is dedicated to providing our clients with a better quality of life through our support services while maintaining their independence in the comfort of their own home.

As a Home Care Agency licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, we can provide families with peace of mind, knowing their loved one is in good hands.

We will work with you to prepare a care plan that incorporates your needs, your wishes, and your preferred schedule. Each client is matched with a caregiver who can best meet their individual needs, whether they reside in a house, apartment, condominium, assisted living, or nursing community.