What to do if the elderly have heart discomfort

Compared with young people, the physical fitness of the elderly is relatively poor, and they often suffer from headaches and fevers. They should not overwork and should take good care of their bodies. However, some elderly people often feel uncomfortable in their hearts. They become breathless and very uncomfortable after walking a few steps. In fact, such symptoms may be caused by many factors, and when caring for the elderly, it is also necessary to prescribe the right medicine, so that it will be effective.

Causes of heart discomfort in the elderly

The cardiovascular system consists of the heart, arteries, capillaries, and veins.

The process of venous blood leaving the heart through arteries, capillaries, and veins and returning to the heart is called blood circulation. The main function of the cardiovascular system is to transport nutrients absorbed by the digestive tract, oxygen exchanged by the lungs, and hormones to tissues and cells of organs throughout the body. At the same time, it transports the metabolic products of tissues and cells and carbon dioxide to the kidneys, lungs, and skin, and excretes them out of the body to ensure the body's metabolism. If the heart is uncomfortable, it should be determined whether it is related to the blood supply under pathological conditions.

Another point is that between the atrial and ventricular muscles of the heart, there is a solid fibrous scaffold formed by dense connective tissue, which is the cardiac fibrous scaffold. The cardiac fibrous scaffold is tough and elastic and plays a supporting role. It will undergo varying degrees of calcification and even ossification with age.

Heart disease is too complicated, so it is best to go to a regular hospital for a check-up to determine the right medicine for your condition. However, I still hope you will remember the assistance of diet and acupoints.

In terms of diet, you should eat more red fruits and vegetables in summer, and take vitamins on a regular basis, such as vitamin C, vitamin B1, and vitamin B2. Massage your whole body, eat less animal fat, limit your food intake, eat more vinegar, and soften your blood vessels.

Massage acupoints to solve heart discomfort

1. Laogong acupoint: Make a fist naturally, and the point under the middle finger is Laogong acupoint, which is between the second and third metacarpal bones of the palm.

2. Neiguan point, 2 inches above the midpoint of the palmar wrist crease, between the two tendons

3. Shenmen acupoint, with the palm facing forward, in the depression at the inner edge of the tendon at the inner end of the wrist crease

Preventing heart disease in the elderly

1 Eat a balanced diet, don’t be picky eaters, and don’t overeat. Control high cholesterol and high fat foods and eat more vegetarian food. At the same time, control total calorie intake and limit weight gain.

2 Live a regular life and avoid excessive stress; get enough sleep and cultivate a variety of interests; keep your emotions stable and avoid being impatient, excited or depressed.

3. Maintain proper physical exercise to enhance physical fitness.

4 Drink more tea. According to statistics, the incidence of heart disease among people who do not drink tea is 3.1%, while it drops to 2.3% for those who drink tea occasionally and only 1.4% for those who drink tea regularly (for more than three years). In addition, the aggravation of heart disease is related to insufficient blood supply to the coronary arteries and thrombosis. The catechins in tea polyphenols and the tea pigments formed by continuous oxidation of tea polyphenols during the decoction process have shown significant anticoagulant, fibrinolytic and anti-thrombotic effects in in vitro animal experiments.

5. Don’t smoke or drink excessively: Smoking can cause the arterial walls to contract and promote atherosclerosis; while excessive drinking can easily cause emotional agitation and high blood pressure.

7 Actively prevent and treat chronic diseases in the elderly: such as high blood pressure, high blood lipids, diabetes, etc. These diseases are closely related to heart disease.

8 To prevent heart disease, you should actively lower your blood pressure. The target blood pressure for the following patients should be 130/80 mmHg, including those with diabetes, chronic kidney disease, critical conditions such as coronary artery disease (CAD), carotid artery disease (carotid bruit, ultrasound or angiography confirms carotid artery abnormalities), peripheral artery disease, and abdominal aortic disease. Framingham risk score ≥10%. Without the above conditions, the standard blood pressure is 140/90 mmHg. For patients with symptoms of myocardial ischemia, blood pressure should be lowered slowly. Diabetic patients or those aged >60 years with diastolic blood pressure (DBP) below 60 mmHg should be careful when lowering blood pressure. For elderly hypertensive patients with a high pulse pressure, when the systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreases, the DBP will also drop very low (<60 mmHg). Pay close attention to symptoms of myocardial ischemia. In very old people (>80 years old), antihypertensive treatment can reduce the risk of stroke, but it is not certain whether it can reduce CAD.

Heart disease patients should strengthen their psychological self-adjustment

Most heart disease patients have a lot to do with people's personality and psychological activities, so in our lives, we must pay attention to psychological adjustments and prevent and treat heart disease from the following four aspects:

1. Stay calm in all situations. People with heart disease often have a quick temper, so they get angry and offend others easily. You must always remind yourself to stay calm and have more patience when encountering things.

2. Be tolerant to others. Forgiving others can not only bring peace and tranquility to oneself, which is beneficial to the recovery of heart disease, but also win friendship and maintain interpersonal harmony. That’s why people call forgiveness “a spiritual tonic and an indispensable vitamin for mental health.”

3. Be open-minded and be able to let go of things. Being too meticulous and demanding often leads to isolation, and this isolated psychological state will cause mental stress and damage the heart. Heart disease patients should be open and downplay their concerns about their children, money, reputation, status and their own illness.