Reprinted from information provided by the National Family Caregivers Association

1. Choose to take charge of your life, and don't let your loved one's illness or disability always take center stage.
2. Remember to be good to yourself. Love, honor and value yourself. You're doing a very hard job and you deserve some quality time, just for you.
3. Watch out for signs of depression, and don't delay in getting professional help when you need it.
4. When people offer to help, accept the offer and suggest specific things that they can do.
5. Educate yourself about your loved one's condition. Information is empowering.
6. There's s difference between caring and doing. Be open to technologies and ideas that promote your loved one's independence.
7. Trust your instincts. Most of the time they'll lead you in the right direction.
8. Grieve for your losses, and then allow yourself to dream new dreams.
9. Stand up for your rights as a caregiver and a citizen.
10. Seek support from other caregivers. There is great strength in knowing you are not alone.

Reprinted from information provided by the National Family Caregivers Association

1. Choose to take charge of your life. We fall into caregiving often because of an unexpected event, but somewhere along the line you need to step back and consciously say, “I choose to take on this caregiving role." It goes a long way toward eliminating the feeling of being a victim.
2. Love, honor and value yourself. Self care isn't a luxury. It is your right as a human being. Step back and recognize just how extraordinary you are, and remember your own good health is the very best present you can give your loved one.
3. Seek, accept and at times demand help. Caregiving, especially at its most intense levels, is definitely more than a one-person job. Asking for help is a sign of your strength and an acknowledgement of your abilities and your limitations.
4. Stand up and be counted. Recognize that caregiving comes on top of being a parent, a child, a spouse. Honor your caregiving role and speak up for your well-deserved recognition and rights. Become your own advocate, both within your own immediate caregiving sphere and beyond.

Reprinted from information provided by RiverBend Medical Group

1. Eat more plant foods. They're rich in vitamins, fiber and disease-fighting phytochemicals, and contain no cholesterol.
2. Trim saturated fat from your diet. It's a killer.
3. Have your blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked regularly. A heart attack is often the first sign of heart disease.
4. Get checked. Sticking to the scheduled screenings and tests your doctor recommendations can reduce your health risks or even save your life.
5. Ditch the remote and get moving again. Walk. Dance. Swim.
6. Quit smoking if you smoke. It's the No. 1 preventable cause of premature death.
7. Think safety first, always. Most accidents are preventable.
8. Let go. Stress takes control of you only if you allow it to.

Reprinted from information provided by RiverBend Medical Group

The established heart disease risk factors include smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. But researchers are studying these culprits as well:

Fibrinogen: Too much fibrinogen, a protein that helps blood clot, may lead to the arterial clots that cause heart attacks. Inactivity, alcohol consumption and taking hormone replacement therapy or birth control pills may raise fibrinogen levels.

Apolipoprotein B (apoB): Testing for this component of LDL, or “bad" cholesterol, may be a better predictor of heart disease risk than checking for total LDL.

Homocysteine: Too much of this amino acid may cause artery linings to scar and thicken. To lower homocysteine levels, get plenty of folate and other B vitamins through green leafy vegetables and fortified grains.

C-reactive protein (CRP): High levels of CRP in the bloodstream indicate risk for heart disease before symptoms surface. In fact, the CRP blood test may become as important as a cholesterol check.

Reprinted from information provided by RiverBend Medical Group

If you suffer from depression, you're at greater risk for developing heart disease. Why? Depression and anxiety disorders may affect heart rhythms and blood clotting, increase blood pressure, and lead to elevated cholesterol levels. Yet less than half of the estimated 19 million people suffering from depression actually get help.

If you suffer from depression, there's hope. Sometimes overcoming depression simply requires a lifestyle change. . . exercising, eating right, finding positive activities, meeting new people. For some, however, battling depression requires counseling, psychotherapy and medication.

1. Frequent hand washing with water and soap.
2. Use tissues for coughs and sneezes and dispose appropriately and immediately.
3. If you think you have the flu, stay home from work or school.
4. Talk with your physician about whether or not antiviral medicines could be right for you either during an outbreak or if you have early signs of influenza.
5. If you think you have the flu, avoid elderly or frail relatives and friends.
6. Stay healthy! Eat well and get enough rest. Avoid getting “run down" which can lower your immunity to illness.
7. Wash your hands frequently!!
8. See the CDC website for more information on prevention. Go to http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect