You may have noticed that in elderly couples, when one spouse passes away, oftentimes, the other follows soon after. In the medical field, this can be referred to as stress triggered heart disease, but it is more commonly known as the “broken heart syndrome.” Recent research has discovered that not only is there a scientific cause for this to occur, but that it stems from a genetic disposition.
This is a rare condition, but it can happen. It’s impossible to tell if and when it will happen, too, because the people that suffer from it show absolutely no symptoms until some sort of severe emotional or physiological stress triggers it. This is sometimes the loss of a spouse, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be this. It can be something else, and what counts as stress is dependent upon the person experiencing it. But now that researchers have discovered this genetic cause, it may be possible in the future to do a better job of treating and preventing deaths from this before they occur. This is still a ways in the future, but there is evidence that it is possible.
In-home care cannot and will not attempt to replace a lost spouse, but it can provide some much needed companionship during this stressful time in your loved one’s life. Even with in-home care, and even with the best, most loving caregiver and support structure, there’s no guarantee that your loved one will not suffer from broken heart syndrome. The longer that two people have lived together and loved each other, the harder losing a significant other becomes. Having people around that love and care for the remaining spouse might not help, but it cannot hurt. If this easy preventative measure is possible, it’s something that should definitely be considered, even if it is only a brief respite from the heartache that your loved one is experiencing.
Hopefully these early indicators of the disease will help doctors to compensate for and assist those that experience some sort of stressful event in their lives. Medicine has come a very long way in the last several years, and the field of senior care is one of the fastest growing areas in medicine. As the population grows, and the average age of the United States citizen gets older and older, having a solid senior care team on your side is important. In-home care offers far more than just companionship, but in this instance it can be one of the most helpful things that you can do for your elderly mom or dad. And remember, it can also be helpful to those that have not lost a loved one, or have lost a spouse years ago. Emotional or physiological stress can occur in a number of different ways, and having a caregiver on their side to help alleviate any potential stress triggers is a smart and helpful way to keep your family safe and healthy. A loving caregiver can make the little stresses in life disappear and the big stresses seem far less problematic.
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