Common Signs of Cardiac Depression

When someone you love experiences a heart attack and then suffers complications like cardiac depression, you will likely want to go through a list of steps that can be taken to ensure that the damaged heart heals and the person’s lifestyle choices that contributed to the heart attack are changed. Harmony Home Health & Hospice often receives calls from families looking for a list of actionable items – to-do lists for care and heart health. In a scenario filled with chaos, lists give family caregivers a sense of control. They are the instruction manual for a caregiver’s new reality, helping them know what they can do to foster healing and keep another heart attack from taking place.

This information is available, and when connected with our in-home health care services, makes a significant difference in a patient’s outcome. However, there is another side to the patient’s healing that is frequently disregarded. After surviving a heart attack, patients are often overwhelmed with changes. The to-do list that provides comfort and a sense of order for the family caregiver is often a completely new set of rules to live by for the individual needing care, and will likely restrict or redefine past lifestyle choices. The overall experience of the patient living this newly-altered life can result in anger, agitation, fearfulness, or short-term depression.

If cardiac depression is suspected, it is important to notify a doctor for help and support. Below are telltale red flags to help you detect clinical depression:

• Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness
• Loss of interest in day-to-day activities
• Weight or appetite changes
• Sleep changes – either the inability to fall or remain asleep, especially waking in the early morning hours, or oversleeping
• Feeling “keyed up” and restless or feeling sluggish and physically slowed down
• Self-loathing that includes strong feelings of worthlessness, or harsh criticism of perceived faults and mistakes
• Difficulty with focusing, making decisions or memory

Handling change and making it possible for the person to achieve a sense of normalcy after a stroke or heart attack isn’t easy, but Harmony Home Health & Hospice can help. You are not alone. We are available, and we have the tools, knowledge, compassion and training you need to best help someone you love.

As the leading caregiver in Provo and the surrounding areas, Harmony Home Health & Hospice can help you care for your loved one after a heart attack or stroke. We offer a variety of specialty care services and our skilled nurses, therapists, and home health aides can help determine the level of care your loved one requires. Contact us today at 1-877-I-NEED-CARE to learn more. For a full list of all of the communities where we provide care, please visit our Service Area page.