1. Health
2. When a parent has a heart problem

Heart Disease

• Article - How to Tell if Your Parent Is Having a Heart Attack

  Five heart attack symptoms to watch for and how to respond if you see symptoms of a heart attack.

• Article - Managing Congestive Heart Failure

  A parent with congestive heart failure can lead an active life, especially if he knows how to manage the early-stage symptoms. Here's how to help.

• Checklist - 10 Ways You Can Help Your Parents Prevent a Stroke

  Stroke prevention: 10 ways you can help prevent a stroke. These stroke prevention strategies will help your parents reduce their risk of a stroke.

• Article - What to Do When Your Parent Experiences Depression After a Stroke

  Understanding the emotional aftermath of a stroke, including the warning signs of depression and what you can do to help your parent.

• Article - What to Do When Your Parent Experiences Depression After a Heart Attack

  Understanding the emotional aftermath of your parent's heart attack, including the warning signs of depression and what you can do to help.

• Article - How to Tell if Your Parent Is Having a Stroke

  How to Tell if Your Parent Is Having a Stroke. 5 stroke symptoms to watch for and what to do if your parent shows symptoms of a stroke.

• Article - What to Expect After a Heart Attack

  What to expect after a heart attack. A caregiver's guide to common physical and emotional concerns. Find out what to expect and how you can help.

• Article - TIA: What You Should Know if Your Parent Is at Risk for a Stroke

  Understanding your parent's risk of a transient ischemic attack (TIA), or ministroke, including the symptoms of a TIA and what you should do if your parent has a stroke or a ministroke.

• Checklist - 10 Questions to Ask After a Heart Attack

  10 Questions to Ask After a Heart Attack. Was it a mild heart attack? What about side effects? Find out and set a realistic timetable for recovery.

• Checklist - 10 Ways You Can Help Your Parents Prevent a Heart Attack

  Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States. Reduce the risks by following these 10 ways to prevent a heart attack.

• Buying Guide - A Buyer's Guide to Personal Emergency Response Systems

  Guide to personal emergency response systems, or PERS. Home devices that connect your parent to a 24-hour call center with the push of a button.

• Article - How Much Care Will Your Parent Need After a Stroke?

  How to assess how much care and help your parent will need after a stroke.

• Article - How to Help Your Parent Make Dietary Changes

  Advice on how to help your parent with chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease make dietary changes for the better.

Blog Posts

• Blog Post - Link Between Depression and Heart Disease

  ScienceDaily offers a sneak peek at the findings of...

• Blog Post - Help! My mom's in hospice and my sister and I are arguing about her funeral.

  Our mom has said she wants to be cremated "so you don...

• Blog Post - Caregiving Isn't for Sissies

  Caregiving requires courage, compassion, resourcefulness, and an open heart -- qualities that most of us would use to describe a hero.

• Blog Post - Dementia Caregivers: Ready to Make Your Brain a Promise?

  Scary new statistics about Alzheimer's disease and dementia are a wake-up call to caregivers to take better care of themselves.

• Blog Post - How can I deal with my mom's anger at me for urging her to move my dad to an Alzheimer's residence, where he fell in love with another woman?

  My mother, who took care of my father through the early...

• Blog Post - Are You Worried Sick About Your Parent's Heart Disease?

  Caring for someone with heart disease may increase your risk of heart disease and depression. Consider these tips for better heart health.

• Blog Post - Could You Have Diabetes -- And Not Know It?

  Find out if you're at risk for type 2 diabetes by taking the American Diabetes Association's Diabetes Risk Test.

• Blog Post - Fat Belly Now Doubles Risk of Dementia Later

  A new study links belly fat in midlife with an increased risk of developing dementia later in life. It's the first-ever study to link excess weight to Alzheimer's-type dementias.

• Blog Post - Exciting News For Heart and Stroke Patients

  Two-drug combination blood pressure therapy lowers cardiovascular risk in patients with high blood pressure.

• Blog Post - Caregiving: Does it Have to Be This Hard?

  A summary of caregiving in the U.S. in 2008: some statistics and how it got this way

• Blog Post - My father seems interested in moving in with me -- and I don't want him to.

  At 81, my dad has Parkinson's, three heart stents,...

• Blog Post - Depressed? Try Sleeping It Off

  Research shows insomnia prolongs depression in some elderly people. Tips to help your parent sleep better -- and help her overcome depression.

• Blog Post - Dementia Caregiver? 4+ Ways You Can Take a Break

  Ideas for how dementia caregivers can use the arts for stress relief.

• Blog Post - Embarrassment Assistance! The Gift of Plain Wrapping

  Buying adult incontinence products online can save your parents from stressful embarrassment.

• Blog Post - My mother's growing needs are putting a strain on my marriage, and I find myself wondering which will fall apart first -- her, my marriage, or me. What can I do?

  Since my dad died five years ago, my mother has had...

• Blog Post - Solutions for Seniors Who Struggle to Get Enough Zzzs

  Sleep problems are common among the elderly; find ways to help your parents get a good night's rest.

• Blog Post - Questions I Wish I'd Asked Mom

  Reflections on a first motherless Mother's Day.

• Blog Post - Diabetes Studies: Good News? Bad News? Who Knows?

  How to make sense of drug study findings for people caring for parents with type 2 diabetes.

• Blog Post - A Drug for the Bones Causes Risk to the Heart

  New research shows that the osteoporosis drug Fosamax nearly doubles the risk of atrial fibrillation.

• Blog Post - My mother is gambling away every last penny -- and her financial independence. What should I do?

  Since my father's death two years ago, my 75-year-old...

• Blog Post - My dad wants to double-date with me!

  What to do when your elderly dad starts dating -- and he wants to double-date with you and your spouse.

• Blog Post - Quick Quiz: Should Your Parents Stay at Home or Move?

  Quiz to help adult children figure out whether aging parents can stay at home or should move to retirement communities.

• Blog Post - My mother has asked not to be resuscitated if she has a medical crisis, but my siblings disagree on what constitutes a medical crisis.

  Before she showed signs of dementia, my mother decided...

• Blog Post - Memory Problems? Don't Blame Bypass Surgery

  New research suggests that coronary artery disease, not bypass surgery, may be to blame for heart patients' cognitive decline.

• Blog Post - Don't Wait for a Doctor's Visit to Test for High Blood Pressure

  For those with high blood pressure, home monitoring is recommended by the American Heart Association and other major organizations.

• Blog Post - In Men With Type 2 Diabetes, Bedroom Blues May Signal a Broken Heart

  In men with type 2 diabetes, erectile dysfunction may be a warning sign for serious heart trouble, including heart attack and death.

• Blog Post - Cancer Research Breakthroughs Offer New Cancer Drug Options

  New cancer drugs offer hope for those with breast cancer, lung cancer, brain tumors, and pancreatic cancer.

• Blog Post - Can You Keep Type 2 Diabetes at Bay With a Mediterranean Diet?

  Type 2 diabetes may be kept at bay by eating a Mediterranean diet, a new study suggests.

• Blog Post - My mother, who suffers from dementia and alcoholism, wants my sister and me to be her caregivers, so she keeps sending away the one we've hired.

  My sister and I hired a caregiver to come into our...

• Blog Post - Heart Attack! Do You Know the Warning Signs?

  Nearly half of patients with heart disease don't know the signs of heart attack. Here's a list of symptoms and what to do if heart attack strikes.

• Blog Post - Know Thy Father: A Guide to Dad's Day

  Knowing your dad well is a good guide to celebrating Father's Day.

• Blog Post - My mother says she's lonely, and it's heartbreaking for me to hear her crying at night. What can I do to help her?

  My father died seven years ago, and for quite some...

• Blog Post - Silent Stroke: Another Reason to Get Serious About Heart Health

  A new study showed nearly 11 percent of middle-aged participants had silent strokes. Addressing cardiovascular risk factors can decrease stroke risk.

• Blog Post - Should I be responsible for my father's funeral bill when he never paid child support for me?

  My parents have been divorced for more than 20 years...

• Blog Post - New Alzheimer's Breakthroughs, The Cliff Notes Version

  A quick guide to news from the 2008 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease.

• Blog Post - I was the beneficiary of my mother's trust deposit until that was changed to her husband's name a couple of months before she died -- and I think it was done illegally.

  My mother moved from Orlando (where I live) to Miami...

• Blog Post - I can't stop feeling that I was an inadequate caregiver to my mom.

  I am a 56-year-old registered nurse. I took time off...

• Blog Post - Adaptive Senior Clothing: A Welcome Solution to Dressing Challenges

  Adaptive clothing makes dressing much easier for older people with arthritis, Alzheimer's, and other debilitating conditions.

• Blog Post - My father is in failing health and financial ruin, living with a woman who is bipolar, and refuses my help. What can I do?

  My father is 69 years old and in failing health...

• Blog Post - I feel guilty about it, but I can barely stand the sight of my mother, who wants to live with me. What do I owe her?

  My mother is only 61 years old, but she may as well be 90...

• Blog Post - When Money Is Tight, More People Cut Back on Healthcare

  During these rocky economic times, an increasing number of people are saving money by cutting back on spiraling health care costs.

• Blog Post - Macular Degeneration: All Eyes Are on Hormone Therapy

  New research shows that taking hormones cuts a woman's risk of macular degeneration in half. But hormone therapy raises the risk for other health conditions.

• Blog Post - High Blood Pressure? Put Down the Salt Shaker

  A new study shows that too much salt can boost blood pressure. These resources can help you reduce salt intake at home and when dining out.

Questions & Answers

• Question - What is a MUGA test?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Should my father be taking aspirin now that he's been diagnosed with heart disease?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - What can be done to help my mother's fatigue, caused by her heart failure meds?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - What does "end stage" congestive heart failure mean for my mother?

  End stage congestive heart failure doesn't mean someone is dying. End stage congestive heart failure is serious, but some patients live for years.

• Question - Why are my father's heart palpitations getting more frequent?

  What causes frequent heart palpitations in the elderly? Frequent heart palpitations can have various causes, from anxiety to atrial fibrillation.

• Question - How can I tell if my mother's having an angina episode or a heart attack?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - Are intimate relations safe after a heart attack?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Is my mother's "racing heart" normal after a bypass?

  After a bypass, is a racing heart normal? A racing heart after a bypass or heart surgery--possibly atrial fibrillation--requires medical attention.

• Question - How can I keep my father from overexerting himself after his heart attack?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - Could heart failure medications be causing my dad's back pain?

  Could my parent's heart failure drugs be causing his back pain? He's had upper and lower back pain since he started taking heart failure drugs.

• Question - Do you have any healthy recipe suggestions for a stroke patient?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert and a Community Member

• Question - Did bypass surgery change my father-in-law's personality for the worse?

  Can heart surgery change someone's personality? My father-in-law was a very mellow, easygoing person until he had bypass surgery.

• Question - How can I get my father to stop smoking now that he's had a heart attack?

  This question has been answered by two Community Members

• Question - Is my father's discomfort a week after his angioplasty normal?

  Is discomfort after angioplasty normal? My parent had stents put in and has had discomfort, chest pain, arm pain, and sweating since the angioplasty.

• Question - Why is my mother's ovarian cancer causing swelling in her legs and feet?

  Why does cancer cause swelling in the hands and feet? The swelling in the hands and feet of a cancer patient can be caused by pressure on a vein.

• Question - Can Coenzyme Q10 raise my mother's ejection fraction?

  Can CoQ10 raise my parent's ejection fraction if she has heart failure? CoQ10 has not been proven to benefit people with heart failure.

• Question - Why doesn't my mother's doctor want to perform a red blood cell transfusion, just because she's never had one before?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - My grandmother is on a ventilator and has moderate heart failure. What does this mean?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - Is hospitalization or a clinic better for lymphedema treatment?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Is there a procedure for elminating arterial fibrillation?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - What is the life expectancy for someone with advanced congestive heart failure?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - Is sporadic stabbing pain after an angiogram normal?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - What does it mean when a person has to get a ring in their heart after a triple bypass?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - How do you determine which health issue is causing numbness in my mother's legs?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - What can swollen ankles mean after a heart attack?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Are nausea and fatigue a sign that the end is near from congestive heart failure?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - Is a pacemaker a solution for arterial fibrillation?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - my best friend has has a heart transplant...10 years ago....

  Unanswered. Can you help?

• Question - What's the best way to handle criticism about the Alzheimer's care I'm giving my mom?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert and a Community Member

• Question - What could be causing my 80-year-old father's repeated falls?

  My elderly parent falls repeatedly. What's causing these falls -- could they be caused by a health condition such as his heart disease or dizziness?

• Question - What can I do to encourage my dad to wear his emergency response device?

  This question has been answered by two Caring.com Experts

• Question - Why are my mother's hand and arm swollen after her stroke?

  My mom had a mild stroke. She's been complaining of pain and I noticed that her hand and forearm are swollen. Are swollen hands and arms normal?

• Question - How can I convince my father to have coronary bypass surgery?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - What can I do to encourage my dad to wear his personal emergency response (PERS) device?

  This question has been answered by a Community Member

• Question - Can exercise raise my mother-in-law's ejection fraction?

  Can exercise raise my mother-in-law's ejection fraction? Her ejection fraction (EF) is now 10 percent, what it was before bypass surgery.

• Question - My dad eats lots of sweets and doesn't like to drink water--could he have diabetes?

  Find out if a sweet tooth or a lack of thirst are symptoms for type 2 diabetes.

• Question - Could my father's loud snoring be caused by a medical problem?

  Loud snoring may indicate a medical problem like sleep apnea. Loud snoring could also be caused by obesity, alcohol, smoking, and medications.

• Question - How can I help boost my mother's mood after her bypass surgery?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

• Question - What do I say to my dying father, from whom I'm estranged?

  When your estranged parent is dying, what do you say? Talking in a caring way to an estranged dying parent is difficult, but it's worth the effort.

• Question - What is the meaning of dying?

  The raw time after a parent's death can be a rich time to ponder the bigger questions of life.

• Question - Can my half-brother keep me from seeing my mother, who is in a nursing home?

  Make sure you've tried to get to the bottom of a family member's attempts to block you from seeing your ailing mother. Then, you may need to take matters in your own hands.

• Question - What can my grandfather do to help him relax about his cancer?

  This question has been answered by a Caring.com Expert

Tips & Reflections

• Tip - Heart-Healthy Chocolate?

  How can you help lower your parent's blood pressure...

• Tip - React FAST to a Possible Stroke

  If you think your parent may have had a stroke, act F...

• Tip - Listen to the Doctor's Advice

  Do you ever feel like you're being bombarded with information...

• Tip - A Timely Reminder for Stroke Survivors

  If your parent has had a stroke, is he neglecting his...

• Tip - Monitoring Fluid Retention for Heart Failure

  If your parent has heart failure, one of the important...

• Tip - Talk to Your Parent's Doctors About CHF Meds

  People with congestive heart failure (CHF) often take...

• Tip - Keep a Notebook to Help Manage Heart Failure

  Careful, accurate records are vital when your parent...

• Tip - Alleviate the Pain of Claw Toe

  One of the more painful complications of stroke is...

• Tip - Pamper Your Parent With a Pedicure

  If your parent has had a stroke, it might be difficult...

• Tip - Curly Elastic Shoelaces Make "Tying" Shoes a Snap

  If your parent has had a stroke, tying her own shoes...

• Tip - Protect Floors and Carpets From Food Spills

  Mealtimes can be frustrating for both stroke survivors...

• Tip - Stock Your Parents' Freezer With Heart-Healthy Meals

  If your parents have heart problems make it easier for them to eat healthfully and create and freeze enough heart-healthy meals to last a week or two.

• Tip - Managing Zippers After a Stroke

  Simple daily tasks like zipping and unzipping your...

News

• News - Stressful Jobs Hard on the Heart

  TUESDAY, Oct. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Chronic on-the...

• News - Studies Examine Life After Weight-Loss Surgery

  MONDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Coronary heart...

• News - Defib Wire Warning Shouldn't Worry Most Users: Experts

  MONDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) -- On Monday, Medtronic...

• News - U.S. Women's Health Care Still Falls Short: Report

  WEDNESDAY, Oct. 17 (HealthDay News) -- The United States...

• News - Study Shows How Exercise Helps Women's Hearts

  MONDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- About 60 percent...

• News - Overweight Now a Global Problem

  MONDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Worldwide, 40 percent...

• News - Whole Grains Do a Heart Good

  MONDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Diets rich in whole...

• News - Drink or Two a Day May Help Lungs

  WEDNESDAY, Oct. 24 (HealthDay News) -- When it comes...

• News - FDA to Review Clotting Drug After Trial Suggests Death Risk

  THURSDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S...

• News - Drug Lessens Heart Attack Injury

  THURSDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- A type of drug...