Ideas for Fighting Caregiver Burnout

Caregiver burnout is a state of exhaustion–both physical and mental–caused by prolonged caregiving stress. It typically results in fatigue, depression, and even a reduced ability to provide effective care.   Due to this, caregiver burnout can be detrimental to the people receiving care. Luckily, there are things that can be done to help fight burnout… Continue reading Ideas for Fighting Caregiver Burnout

What is Broken Heart Syndrome?

Broken heart syndrome is a term that refers to stress-related illness or death that occurs after a major loss or other event. Most notably, it refers to the phenomenon that occurs in older married couples. When one spouse passes away, it is not uncommon for the surviving spouse to pass away shortly after.   This… Continue reading What is Broken Heart Syndrome?

Education and Post-Stroke Risk

New research shows that people that have gone through higher education, like completing a college degree, tend to be at a higher risk for some types of mental decline after suffering from a stroke.    Stroke has long been associated with cognitive decline. This makes sense; a stroke occurs when there is aninterruption to the… Continue reading Education and Post-Stroke Risk

What Do Spending Cuts Mean for Senior Care?

The Department of Government Efficiency, commonly referred to as DOGE, has been all over the news for months. This commission, headed by Elon Musk, has been tasked with finding wasteful government spending and giving recommendations on how to resolve it.   Further, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is also under pressure right… Continue reading What Do Spending Cuts Mean for Senior Care?

What Vaccines are Recommended for Seniors?

It’s flu season. Maybe you’ve already been hit in your household by the flu, or another viral illness. I know my family has. Hopefully, your family has escaped unharmed and will continue to do so. Either way, you’ve probably considered getting vaccinated. If you’re uncertain about vaccines, or unsure of what’s even needed, this quick… Continue reading What Vaccines are Recommended for Seniors?

New Stroke Medication May Help Repair Brain

A new medication for stroke recovery might help with repairing damage to the brain after a stroke occurs.   Stroke recovery has long focused on re-teaching the brain how to perform activities, such as learning to walk again or learning how to speak again. Paralysis and loss of speech are common symptoms after a stroke… Continue reading New Stroke Medication May Help Repair Brain

Understanding DNR Orders

A DNR Order is short for a “Do Not Resuscitate” Order. It is a legal document that states that if an emergency medical event occurs and resuscitative action is needed to save someone’s life, those resuscitative actions should not happen.   There are a number of steps that should be completed prior to finalizing a… Continue reading Understanding DNR Orders

Seniors and Unexpected Pain

Pain is one of the major issues that seniors face. But pain is also not very well understood by researchers.    Right now, there are two main theories that researchers have when it comes to understanding how the brain reacts to pain. The first is called the Estimate Hypothesis. It states that the brain attempts… Continue reading Seniors and Unexpected Pain

Predicting Pain as We Age

A new project that looks at predicting pain patterns in the brain indicates that it might be possible to predict just how sensitive someone is to certain types of pain. Along with this research, the team believes that this will lead to a …

How Walking Can Help with Stroke Recovery

Stroke therapy that focuses on regularly increasing intensity walking may lead to better results when it comes to recovery. At least, that’s what new research from the American Heart Association indicates. A team from the University of British Columbia looked at 12 different stroke recovery units across Canada, and over 300 different patients. At the… Continue reading How Walking Can Help with Stroke Recovery