You’ve probably heard that a healthy diet and regular exercise are important for senior heart health, but that’s easier advice to give than it is to follow.
The truth is, older people often face serious barriers to making heart-healthy choices—and those barriers aren’t always obvious. For some seniors, mobility issues are visible: A wheelchair, a walker or a cane. Others, like back pain, arthritis or chronic fatigue, aren’t outwardly visible, but they’re no less real, and they can also make it hard to get exercise and prepare healthy meals.
Luckily, Nashville has no short of resources available to help. Here are some of the best.
Senior Heart Health Resources in Nashville
If your loved one needs help maintaining their heart health, they’re in luck: Nashville has plenty to offer them. From good places to walk no matter the weather and fun exercise classes to meal-prep services that make it easy for them to eat right, here are some of the best options in town:
- Take Them for a Walk—Rain or Shine
One of the best ways for older people to keep their heart health up is also one of the simplest: Going for a walk. It’s not just that it helps with their cardio, strength and balance. Taking just a short walk outside each day has actually been shown to improve mental health and reduce stress—which in turn helps lower blood pressure.
While a winter walk outside isn’t always an option in Nashville, it’s not completely off the table like it is in the northern parts of the country. Fortunately, the Brentwood Family YMCA has great options for walking both indoors and outdoors.
Walking outside has the greatest benefits for mental health, so on warmer days, try taking your loved one for an easy stroll on the walking trail outside the YMCA building. The Y also has an indoor track to walk on, so there’s a good backup option for when it’s cold, icy or wet.
- Get Them Moving—The Fun Way
Some seniors get a lot of mileage out of walking outdoors, but others need the kind of structure that a regular workout class offers. However, ordinary workout programs just aren’t built for older people. The difficulties they experience with mobility, coordination and balance can make vigorous exercise uncomfortable and even dangerous.
If your loved one needs to maintain their heart health, one good way to help them is to find them a workout class that meets their unique needs—and with the help of local senior activity organizations in the area like Fifty Forward, they have plenty of options to choose from.
The best part is, many of these workouts don’t even feel like exercise; they feel like play. Fifty Forward alone hosts classes like Cardio Drumming, Line Dancing and Belly dancing—and they’re hardly the only group around offering fun programs like this. Even better, by going to classes on a regular basis, familiar faces there will start to turn into friends, giving your loved one a weekly social event to look forward to.
- Make Healthy Cooking Easier
Arthritis and coordination issues can be especially frustrating for seniors who love to cook. These issues don’t just complicate meal preparation—they can prevent your loved one from engaging in a passion that gives joy and meaning to their life.
Here’s the good news: You can help out. There are plenty of meal-preparation services around Nashville that make it easier for seniors to find and prepare healthy, delicious meals. Some of them deliver ready-to-bake frozen meals, which are a fantastic option for older people who just want a good meal at home.
Other services such as The Fresh Market cater to seniors for whom cooking is a delight, not just a necessity. They deliver prepared ingredients portioned out for a specific recipe, but don’t do any of the actual cooking. That way your loved one can skip the repetitive prep work and get right to the part they care about.
Find a Heart Health Partner in Nashville, TN
It’s not always easy for seniors to stay heart-healthy, but the resources available in Nashville make it simpler than it is in most places. From fun workout classes and all-season walks to services that help with meal prep, Nashville has plenty of options to help seniors maintain their heart health.
If your loved one needs a little more help staying heart-healthy, FirstLight Home Care of Nashville and Franklin is here for them. Our caregivers don’t just help them bathe and dress themselves; they can offer transportation to activities, help them cook and even act as a trusted walking buddy and companion.
Ready to see how our caregivers can help your loved one care for their heart? Contact us today.
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