Chronic Disease Management

Conditions that can’t be cured, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, need chronic disease management to stop them from causing progressive harm and leading to disability and death. At Muskogee Family Practice, Monica Hoog-Gage, ARNP, CNP, creates personalized management plans that slow or stop disease progression, helping you to maintain optimal health and well-being. Schedule an appointment by calling the office in Muskogee, Oklahoma,. 

What is chronic disease management?

Chronic disease management is a comprehensive medical and lifestyle approach to protect your health when you have a life-long disease.   

All chronic diseases must be managed because they are incurable and cause progressive organ damage. Without proper management, chronic diseases progress, leading to life-threatening problems like strokes, heart attacks, and kidney disease.

What health conditions need chronic disease management?

The most common chronic diseases include:

• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Certain cancers
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Chronic kidney disease
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

You can prevent most chronic diseases. But once the disease develops, you must manage it to minimize its impact on your health.

What happens during chronic disease management?

At Muskogee Family Practice, Monica customizes each person’s chronic disease management plan based on the specific disease and its stage, symptom severity, and overall health.

Management plans may include health monitoring (such as checking your blood sugar or blood pressure at home), medications, and lifestyle modifications. You may need other treatments like physical therapy, weight management, and mental health.

Routine checkups are also essential so Monica can monitor your health and take immediate steps to adjust your treatment if your disease is worsening.

Why does chronic disease management include lifestyle changes?

Though there are a few exceptions, most chronic diseases develop and progress due to unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as consuming too much sugar or salt, being overweight, skipping exercise, and smoking.

Replacing those habits with a healthy lifestyle is crucial for managing chronic diseases. Changing factors like diet, exercise, and smoking can stop the disease from causing ongoing organ damage. However, the lifestyle changes you may need to make depend on the disease.

For example, if you have diabetes, disease management means keeping your blood sugar in the healthy range. The first step toward managing blood sugar is dietary, limiting processed carbs and sweets. 

Monica recommends the specific lifestyle changes needed to lower your blood pressure, restore healthy cholesterol levels, and prevent progressive kidney damage (to name a few).

Will I need medication?

If lifestyle changes don't control your chronic disease or the disease has already reached an advanced stage, Monica prescribes medications to manage the condition and ease symptoms.

If you need expert chronic disease management, call Muskogee Family Practice today.