Heart Failure Fail
Brush Your Teeth!!
:)
Brush Your Teeth!! :)
It's the simplest thing you could possibly do. I mean, you're supposed to be doing it 2x/day anyways. Brush. Your. Teeth. Yet,somehow it's the thing nurses promote the least! But Guys! It is so important!!!
No joke. I have seen people DIE because they failed to participate in oral hygiene.
In 2 different instances, I had a patient who had an abscess on their tooth, the infection went to their brain and they died. But not before delirium set in and had lost all sense of who they were. So THE BRAIN. That’s a good reason to brush your teeth too, but today we’re going to focus on the HEART.
Luke 6:45 “For out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.”
As a heart failure nurse, I have seen my share of diseased hearts. My patients are a revolving door on the unit. We treat them, they get better, but they always come back until one day they’re hooked up to a SWAN , a slew of meds, and waiting for an alternative intervention, such as an LVAD or a heart transplant.
Periodontal disease is a gum disease that affects the tissues that support your teeth.
How do you get gum disease you ask??
BY. NOT. BRUSHING. YOUR. TEETH!!
Plaque builds up on your teeth and gum line, bacteria makes a home inside your mouth, and that’s when you get… PERIODONTAL DISEASE!
Say it with me...EW!!
People who have peridontal disease are 49% more likely to suffer a heart attack than those with healthy gums. (that handy dandy orange link up above? That'll link you up with the studies!) ;D
Think About it
Put your hand on your mouth
Now put your other hand on your heart
-There’s not that much room between the two, and that’s a DIRECT pathway.
DISCLAIMER:
I am not throwing the people who have a probable disposition to gum disease in the hot seat. Of course, there is an exception to every rule.
BUT
People! In particular my HEART FAILURE peeps! Don’t forget to BRUSH. YOUR. TEETH!
When you’re in the hospital, ADVOCATE for yourselves! Ask for a tooth brush. Sometimes nurses aren’t prioritizing oral hygiene because well… someone just coded down the hall, your neighbor is in flash pulmonary edema, and ding-dong across the way just pulled out their fecal management system… yes… it’s as gross as it sounds…
NURSES- Somehow, someway along your shift. PRIORITIZE that oral hygiene. It’s so incredibly important!
