Heart disease covers a wide range of conditions that can harm the heart and, as a result, affect every part of the body. As a caregiver, the idea of helping a person with a heart condition may feel overwhelming especially if it’s your family member. Three main tips from our pharmacists at Pharmedic Pharmacy that can help you and the person you’re caring for are:
- Learn more about the condition – Understanding a patient’s diagnosis and prognosis when caring for someone with a heart condition can be difficult. By educating yourself, you can create the groundwork you need to give useful support.
- Understand the healing process – Depending on how well your family member can remember the next steps, you may need to be specific about diet or fluid restrictions, activity and exercise limits, the doctor’s instructions on how to spot complications, arranging a schedule of follow-up appointments, helping your family member get in touch with smoking cessation programs (if they are still smoking), and learning ways on improving the patient’s heart condition from healthcare professionals such as how to reduce their cholesterol levels.
Learn how to manage their medications – As the patient is having a severe condition, it is crucial to keep an eye on their medications and ensure they are taken at the right time. So, it is important to know how you can manage their medications effectively to avoid any other complications arising.
How We Can Help
At Pharmedic Pharmacy in Calgary, our pharmacists have several ways to help your family member’s heart health. The two main services we provide that will be beneficial when caring for a person with a heart condition are:
- Medication Adherence: to ensure that prescriptions are taken as prescribed and on time by patients with chronic diseases, our pharmacists can work closely with them and provide you, as a caregiver, with the necessary details to take care of your family member. This can be done during our confidential medication review services.
- Prescription Refills – with a variety of options available at Pharmedic Pharmacy, refilling your medicines is now simpler than ever. We give you the option to have your family member’s prescription refilled online through our website, and have it delivered right to their door. It’s vital to get their prescriptions refilled on time to avoid any potential risks that may arise.
- Prescription Renewals – we strive to ensure your family member’s prescriptions are renewed on time to avoid unnecessary consequences arising in their health if their prescription renewals are delayed.
It can be difficult and time-consuming to care for and support someone who has a heart condition. However, if you keep these tips in mind, you’ll quickly establish a rhythm and be able to settle into a routine that will be beneficial to both you and the person you are caring for. Working together with your family member’s healthcare professional or one of our pharmacists at Pharmedic Pharmacy is also recommended because it can help.