- Education of Disease Process
- Individual Family Counseling by MSW
- Management & Evaluation of Plan of Care
- Observation & Assessment
- Home Safety and Emergency Education
- Medication Education
- Assistance with ADL’s
- Nutrition Education
- Physical Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Speech Therapy
- IV Therapy
- Wound Vac
- Venipuncture
- Wound Care Provided by a TEAM of Wound Care Certified Nurses
Anticoagulants and Antiplatelet agents are medicines that interfere with the blood’s ability to clot in an artery, vein or the heart. Doctors use them to help patients prevent strokes caused by a blood clot.
Anticoagulants or (blood thinners) are medicines that delay the clotting of blood. Two examples are Heparin and Warfarin brand name (Coumadin). Anticoagulants make it harder for clots to form or keep existing clots from enlarging in your heart, veins, or arteries. Treatment should be supervised, and it should last as long as necessary.
- Follow your doctor’s (or other healthcare provider’s) instructions
- Have regular blood tests so your doctor can test how the medicine is working
- Never take aspirin with anticoagulants unless your doctor tells you to
- You must tell other healthcare providers that you’re taking anticoagulants
- Always check with your doctor before taking other medications or food supplements, such as aspirin, vitamins, cold medicine, pain medicine, sleeping pills or antibiotics. These can alter the effectiveness and safety of anticoagulants by strengthening or weakening them
- Let your doctor know if you have been started on any new medications that might interfere with the action of Warfarin
- Discuss your diet with a heath care professional
- Tell your family how you take anticoagulant medicine and carry your emergency medical ID card with you
Yes. Tell your doctor if:
- Your urine turns pink or red
- Your stools turn red, dark brown or black
- Your gums bleed
- You have a very bad headache or stomach pain that doesn’t go away
- Your get sick or feel weak, faint or dizzy
- You often find bruises or blood blisters
- You have an accident of any kind
Antiplatelet medicines keep blood clots from forming by preventing blood platelets from sticking together. They’re used as part of a treatment for patients with atherosclerosis or with increased clotting tendencies. Atherosclerosis is the process by which deposits of cholesterol form along inner walls of blood vessels, creating the conditions for blood clots to form.
- Antiplatelets are generally prescribed preventively, when atherosclerosis is evident but there is not yet a large obstruction in the artery
- Antiplatelet drugs include aspirin, ticlopidine, clopidogrel and dipyridamole
- Aspirin is an important therapeutic agent for stroke prevention. It’s a medicine that can save your life if you have heart problems, or if you have had a stroke or TIA
You must use aspirin just as your doctor tells you, and not in your own way.
- Call 9-1-1 or the emergency medical services (EMS) in your area immediately. Also, check the time so you'll know when the first symptoms appeared. It’s very important to take immediate actions. If given within three hours of the start of symptoms, a clot-busting drug can reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke
- Get to a hospital right away. If you’re the one having symptoms, and you can’t access the EMS, have someone drive you to the hospital right away. Don’t drive yourself, unless you have absolutely no other option
- Don’t smoke, and avoid other people’s tobacco smoke
- Treat high blood pressure if you have it
- Eat a healthy diet that's low in saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol and salt
- Be physically active
- Keep your weight under control
- Follow your doctor’s orders for taking medicine
- Control your blood sugar if you have diabetes
- Get regular medical check-ups
There’s good news for people who have had a heart attack. The worst is over, and soon you can do most of the things you used to do!
Now is a good tome to make healthy changes in your lifestyle. Heart disease can get worse unless you take steps to get your heart in good shape.
After a heart attack, it’s common to worry a lot. Getting better and feeling good about yourself will take time. It helps to do as your doctor says and to learn about keeping your heart healthy. You have many active years left to enjoy.
Most patients say they have had bad feelings after a heart attack. These are normal and easy to understand. It’s a good idea to talk to someone about your feelings—don’t keep them inside In time, these bad feelings should go away.
FEAR:
- Of dying
- Of chest pains
- That you can’t have sex
- That you can’t work
ANGER:
- That this has happened to you
- At family and friends
DEPRESSION, such as thinking...
- Life is over
- You might not be the same again
- Others might think you are weak
People who are close to you will also feel your heart attack. Instead of keeping bad feelings in, you should all talk about them.
Family members may feel:
- Frightened to see you in the hospital
- Angry that the heart attack came at a bad time
- Guilty because they think they caused it, even if they know it’s not possible.
- Get help to quit if you smoke
- Control high blood pressure
- Eat healthful meals low in saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol and salt
- Get involved in regular physical activities
- Lose weight if you need to
- Take your medicine exactly as prescribed
- Check with your doctor first, but you should be able to have sex the way you did before. You should be ready when you’re able to walk around easily.
- If you have chest pain during sex, have lost interest, or are worried about having sex, talk with your doctor.
- Most people go back to work in two weeks to three months
- Your doctor may have you take a test to find out if you can do the kind of work you did before
- Some people change jobs to make it easier on their heart
- Ask you doctor about cardiac rehabilitation programs in your area
