The Toronto Home Care Digest for December 6, 2013

Posted by Steve Jones

Fri, Dec 6, 2013

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FROM OUR BLOG…

10 Ways to Lower Blood Pressure and Have Happier Holidays

For many of us, our lives are never more hectic than around the holidays. The days are shorter and grayer, making us want to stay bundled up in bed in be less active; our jobs are demanding more results before the end of the year; family gatherings, while fun, cause stress and make us work extra hard (not to mention the high amounts of fatty, heavy foods); and we’re bustling around trying to get gifts for family and friends.

All of these events happening at once not only cause weight gain, stress, and exhaustion, they also contribute to high blood pressure or hypertension. Over 50% of Canadians over the age of 65 reported having high blood pressure in 2011 (Canadian Community Health Survey, 2011).

Alzheimer’s Disease and Down Syndrome: What’s the Connection?

Much research has been done about both Alzheimer’s disease and Down Syndrome (DS). Although they are very different health issues, medically speaking, there are some striking neurological similarities. Studies of patients with DS could shed some light on the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease.

Personal Support Workers Live and Work With Passion

In a world where autonomy is sought after, celebrated, rewarded, and clung to, an oxymoron exists. As hard as it can be to admit, we weren’t meant to go it alone. Equally hard to admit is the fact that it’s our vulnerabilities which truly makes us human, and celebrating this aspect of our existence can bring a freedom not known or experienced within a life lived to the contrary. Not only does acknowledging our need with a willingness to reach out for help bring relief on a multitude of levels, there are those whose life’s purpose is carried out by meeting the needs of others.

FROM AROUND THE WEB…

Lifelong learner expands horizons beyond medicine

If there were more hours in a day, Victor Hoffstein would happily work them. As it is, Hoffstein, 70, a respirologist, founder of the sleep laboratory at St. Michael’s Hospital and professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, works a minimum of 12 hours a day, seeing more than 150 patients each week.

A Method to Predict Alzheimer’s Disease Within Two Years of Screening

At the first signs of memory loss, most people start worrying and wonder, What if I have Alzheimer’s disease? And yet, the disease is often diagnosed late in its development and sometimes up to ten years after the first pathological changes have affected the brain. A major goal in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease has been to provide earlier diagnosis so that patients can receive treatment as early as possible.

What Our 42 Million Caregivers Need Most

When a mother has a heart attack, a father takes a fall or dementia leaves a family member unable to care for herself, a full-time worker often becomes a full-time caregiver. In teh stress of the moment and the rush to help, the unprepared can sacrifice their careers to aid their families. But they don’t have to.