Planning on Acute Heart Failure This Holiday?
December 11, 2008 by Carrie Tucker
Filed under Disease Management, Heart
Well that is a stupid question. No body wants to rush to the emergency room gasping for breath, and then spend a few days dining on hospital fare with your butt hanging out of the most unflattering attire imaginable.
“Ho ho ho?”
“I don’t think so!”
Yet, if you are shopping ‘til you drop, and then having chips and dips and drinks with desert (prescription medication too?), you are asking for a hospitalized holiday!
Lack of sleep, water and good wholesome food will catch up with you quick. (Yes, YOU!)
You waste SO much energy processing and eliminating stimulants, alcohol and junk food!
Plan on avoiding acute heart failure!
Want to enjoy your holiday?
- Start every day with 4 ounces of water, every 15 minutes. When you quench your thirst, you have met your water need for the morning. You will feel thirsty frequently throughout the day, you’ll see. Sip water all day! (If you are on diuretics, be careful, go slow, avoid processed foods like the plague!)
- Sit QUIETLY for the first 10–30 minutes everyday. Don’t think if you can possibly help it. Give it a try! If you can sit up straight while you take slow deep breaths, that can be helpful too. Spend some time with yourself.
- Now is a good time to get up and MOVE! If you can’t move without shortness of breath, make sure you use enough supplemental oxygen to keep your blood oxygen saturation above 92% at ALL times.
If you are acutely bedridden in a hospital setting, your doctor will write an order for your nurse to get you up and walk with you.
That means MOVE.
Your doctor knows if you don’t move, your disease process will progress quickly.
Move it or lose it is a fact.
Monitor your blood pressure, and your oxygen saturation!
Inactivity is an invitation for acute heart failure.
- Fresh fruits are a wonderful gift to give or receive! Fresh fruits and vegetables are the key to feeling better and living a longer more active life. Check out The Fruit Company!
- Be patient and forgiving, everyone else is stressed out this time of year too. That’s why they call it cold and flu season.
Be good to yourself and enjoy your holidays!
Many blessings,
Carrie
PS– Please enter your email address in the box at the right, because I’d love to keep in touch.
PPS– Remember everyday:
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Relax and Release tension
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Take deeep breaths
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Be active in a way that adds joy to your life
Plus pure water ~whole foods~sunshine~and laughter
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Thanks for the great reminder to take care of ourselves at this hectic time of year.
How long we should drink this water for every 15 minutes? A whole morning or whole day?
I always drink a glass of water every morning, is it enough?
You are so very welcome Lynn!
Aldhis, this is a great tip I learned from Stephen Cherniske, author of The Caffeine Blues.
Really nice guy, and talk about smart!
He says that if you drink 4 ounces, no more, no less, and then wait for 15 minutes, you should begin to feel your thirst rather quickly. When 15 minutes has passed, drink only 4 more ounces and wait another 15 minutes before you check in with your thirsty meter:)
Keep repeating this process only until you are no longer thirsty.
When you meet your water needs first thing in the morning, you become aware when your need for water returns. By sipping water all day long we can stay well hydrated, which is very health building.
Water is necessary! The more water you drink, the less you will feel like drinking health robbing beverages.
If I have a headache, a couple glasses of water work better than an aspirin.
As far as how much, Stephen says half your body weight in ounces is a good rule of thumb.
Take a shower on the inside. Have a glass of water!
Many blessings,
Carrie
These are great tips. Let’s especially not forget our consistent exercise program during the holiday season. Let’s not make the excuse that we don’t have time, please, force ourselves to have time.
Heck, get up and walk down the road, you’ll be back in a minute right?! And you’ll feel much better than you did when you got up.
Happy, healthy holidays!
Carrie