February 6, 2025, 3:55 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
A heart attack in a loved one often changes everyday life abruptly. Many relatives do everything they can to stay strong and put their own worries aside – but this can lead to new challenges. How can you support both the person with heart disease and yourself?
The diagnosis of heart disease poses major challenges not only for those affected but also for their relatives. They often try to keep burdens away from the person who has suffered a heart attack – but this can unintentionally create distance. Experts, therefore, advise openness, self-care, and, if necessary, professional support.
Overview
Don’t Suppress Emotions – for an Open Approach
Many relatives want to spare the person with heart disease as much as possible and, therefore, avoid showing their own worries or fears. It’s not uncommon for them to say: “Don’t get too stressed or upset; I’ll deal with it.” But this behavior can have exactly the opposite effect. Cardiologist Christoph Herrmann-Lingen and psychologist Jonas Nagel write in the German Heart Foundation’s magazine Herz Heute that this kind of restraint can make open communication more difficult and create emotional distance.
Reflect on Your Own Condition
An important first step is to become aware of your own feelings. Anxiety, excessive demands, or frustration can play a role, especially when your own life circumstances change significantly due to a relative’s heart disease. Anyone who recognizes these emotions can find words for them more easily and enter into an exchange with the person affected.
Even if it takes courage to start an open conversation, it is worth it. Both sides can better understand behaviors, clarify misunderstandings, and possibly develop new solutions. Since these conversations can be challenging to have in passing, experts recommend scheduling a dedicated time for a family conference.
Active Support in Everyday Life after a Heart Attack
Taking the Medication
In addition to emotional support, relatives can also provide practical help. Among other things, it is important to ensure that the medication prescribed by the doctor is taken regularly. As a relative, you can take over the procurement of the medication or draw up an intake plan together with the person affected, which helps to ensure that the therapy is reliably implemented.
A Balanced Diet
A healthy lifestyle also plays a decisive role. Relatives can encourage the affected person to eat a healthy diet – or even change their eating habits together.
Regular Exercise Following a Heart Attack
Encouraging regular exercise is also beneficial. Motivating your loved one to walk more often or go for walks together is not only beneficial for their physical health. It can also create positive shared experiences. It can also be useful to choose a suitable sports program.
Keeping up with Examinations
Regular check-ups are essential, particularly after a heart attack, to detect early changes. However, those affected sometimes avoid doctor’s appointments – out of fear or the feeling that they are not necessary. In this case, relatives can help to remind them of the appointments or accompany the person with heart disease to the appointment. The same applies to check-ups with a cardiologist, which should not be neglected under any circumstances.
Recognizing Signs of a Heart Attack
As a relative, it may also be advisable to find out about the symptoms of a new heart attack. These can be different for men and women. Being well-prepared, which may include having attended a first aid course, enables you to react more swiftly in an emergency.
Support with Sensitivity
A heart attack changes one’s life. This applies not only to the person suffering from the illness but also to those around them. Despite all the care you feel as a relative, it is all the more important to respect the independence of the person affected. Support should be helpful without restricting the independence of the person concerned.1
When Professional Help Is Needed
If relatives feel permanently overburdened, exhausted, or overwhelmed by anxiety, this could indicate a mental illness such as depression or an anxiety disorder. In this case, experts recommend talking to your family doctor at an early stage to get an initial assessment and discuss possible support options.
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Rehabilitation after a Heart Attack: Relatives Can Also Benefit
Not only the heart patients themselves but also their relatives are included in cardiac rehabilitation measures. In this context, questions about how to deal with each other can be clarified, and helpful strategies can be developed to make it easier for them to cope with the disease together.
*With material from dpa