As you get older you may have to learn to live with long-term health conditions, that you haven’t experienced before, like high blood pressure or diabetes.
Long-term conditions are physical health conditions that cannot be cured, but which can usually be controlled with treatment or medicines.
If you have a long-term condition you are probably aware that your health is better when you can manage your condition in partnership with your doctor.
Here is some advice for some of the more common long-term health conditions you may experience.
High blood pressure
High blood pressure can cause many health problems such as stroke, heart disease, diabetes and more. The good news is there are many things you can do to lower your blood pressure.
Healthy Hearts gives you lots of information on how to check your blood pressure and whether you’re at risk. There are also many small changes you can make to help prevent high blood pressure.
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Healthy hearts
A healthy heart helps to reduce your risk of stroke or a heart attack. There are many healthy choices you can make every day to help keep your heart healthy.
The good news is many of the risks that increase heart disease can be controlled, treated or changed.
Find out how healthy your heart is with the NHS heart age calculator, or find more information from the British Heart Foundation.
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Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes occurs when glucose levels build up in your bloodstream which can cause several symptoms and serious complications.
The good news is it can be managed and even reversed through changes in diet and exercise. For more severe cases, medication is available.
Diabetes UK has a handy tool so you can find out how ‘at risk’ you might be of Type 2 diabetes and tips on how to prevent prevention of the disease.
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Dementia
Dementia is a condition where problems with memory or other types of thinking make it hard for you to do everyday activities. There are several different diseases that affect the brain and cause dementia.
The Living with Dementia toolkit is designed to improve the quality of life for people with dementia and their carers, you can pick and choose what interests you from the toolkit and what would work best for you and your family.
Help and support is available for those with the condition, and their families and friends, like through Dementia Friends.
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Falls prevention
The older you get; the more common falling becomes. However, there are many things you can do to help prevent falling.
The NHS offer tips on how to reduce falling, particularly at home, including great advice on how strength and balance training can help.
Age UK can give advice on how to make your home fall-proof; what to do if you’re worried about falling and exercise to keep you fit and healthy as you age.
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Enjoying life!
Enjoying your life is an important ingredient to healthy ageing and there are many things you can do to get the most out of life such as healthy eating, exercise, keeping in touch with family and friends, taking care of your health and much more.
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