Being the spouse of a heart patient

If you're the life partner of a heart patient, things can be harder for you than a lot of people may realize. On one hand, you want to be as helpful as you can when it comes to helping with diet, exercise and stopping bad habits, like smoking. On the other, you don't want to be a nag. It can be a tricky balancing act. It might help if you recognize what your partner is going through as he or she attempts to adopt more healthy behaviors.

Change takes time

First of all, it's important to understand that your partner probably won't be able to change overnight. People often go through a series of thought processes before they are ready to make changes.

At first they might not even want to think about changing.
Then they start to think about the benefits of changing and the risks of not changing.
Next, they make preparations for changing, such as getting rid of unhealthy food, throwing out the cigarettes, looking into health club memberships, etc.
At the next stage, they begin to practice the new behavior.
Next comes maintaining the new behavior

After going through these stages, people will often fall back into bad habits for a time. Your partner needs to know that returning to bad habits now and then is normal. You can help by explaining this, and encouraging him or her to pick up the healthier habits again.

Don't underestimate your ability to help

There's no question that your support is extremely valuable to your partner. You can help by

Eating the same heart healthy meals that your partner does.
Helping your partner remember to take medication.
Exercising with your partner.
Talking with your partner about how it feels to have a heart condition.

Remember, a heart healthy lifestyle is good for you too. But don't be hard on yourself when your partner has trouble maintaining the new behavior all the time. Nobody's perfect, and little lapses now and then are not your fault.