There’s no two ways about it. Our hearts matter, and we cannot function properly when they are put under pressure or start to go wrong. World Heart Day is back, taking place on 29 September with the aim of raising awareness about cardiovascular disease, how to spot it, treat it – and take measures to protect yourself and your care home residents against it.

Older and vulnerable people living in residential care can be more susceptible to heart problems, the consequences of which can be life-altering or fatal. Here are some tips and advice around heart health to help care home managers support those they look after this autumn and winter.

Stay active

Maintaining an active lifestyle will inevitably be harder for older care home residents and those living with limited mobility or other disabilities. However, it is very important to geta s much exercise as possible to help protect the heart and keep it beating strongly. Not only does exercise help keep the joints mobile and the body moving, it helps keep the weight down, putting less pressure on the heart to pump blood around the body. Occupational therapy and physical therapy can help your residents keep fit and active, as can visits from yoga, aerobics or Pilates instructors.

Stop smoking

You would have to have been living under a rock for the past few decades not to know the ill effects that smoking has on the body. Even vaping – an increasingly popular replacement activity – has its risks. For heart health in particular, smoking causes the arteries’ walls to become sticky and clogged, restricting the space for blood flow into the heart and making the muscle work harder than it should. This can lead to a heart attack if left untreated. Of course, smoking is bad for other parts of the body too, so residents should be strongly encouraged to cut down or give up as part of general health monitoring.

Monitor blood pressure

Care Vision has several helpful monitoring tools, plus recording and reporting features to track residents’ medical histories, observation results and more. Key to good heart health is keeping an eye on blood pressure, as changes can indicate problems. If blood pressure gets too high, the person is at risk of serious complications such as stroke or TIA, or even vascular dementia caused by restricted blood flow to the brain. Medication aimed at lowering blood pressure can also be administered and recorded using Care Vision’s eMAR function to ensure regular, accurate delivery.

Look after your teeth

The link between good oral hygiene and heart health may not seem immediately obvious. However, brushing and flossing teeth assiduously can make a real difference to the heart. The same bacteria that cause gum disease if they are not cleaned out by a good dental health routine twice a day can get into the bloodstream. From there, they can cause blood vessel inflammation, which can lead to a devastating impact on the heart. Sticking to a good oral health routine is a simple way to help protect your heart both first thing in the morning – and last thing at night.

Watch out for too much salt

As we get older, our bodies become more sensitive to salt, too much of which can affect blood pressure (hypertension) or cause problems with blood circulation. Too much sodium can also lead to fluid retention and swelling. Again, Care Vision’s diet and nutrition modules can help chefs and managers organise meals and snacks that have less salt in them, and watch out for signs that heart problems linked to eating too much salt may be slowly creeping up. Watch for ‘hidden salt’ in foods that you might not expect to find it.

Stop the stress

This tip is as much for care home staff as it is for residents. A certain amount of stress will be inevitable when running a busy care home. However, allowing it to overwhelm us, cause excess anxiety or stop us from taking part in exercise and other relaxing pastimes can have a negative impact on our heart health. In the short-term, stress releases adrenaline, which causes blood pressure to increase and the heart to beat faster. Over time, symptoms of stress can lead to inflammation and plaque build-up in the arteries. If ever you or your residents need a reason to stop and smell the roses, this is surely it.