Chronic Illness

• COVID-19: 7 Ways to Stay Safe When You're at High Risk

  Find out if you could be at higher risk for COVID-19 and learn how to stay safe.

• COVID-19: Advice for People at High Risk

  COVID-19 causes a mild illness in many people who have it. But certain things may increase your risk for more serious illness. These include: Age. The risk increases with age. Older adults are at highest risk. Smoking. Obesity. Living in a long-term care facility. Having ongoing serious...

• Conserving Energy When You Have COPD or Other Chronic Conditions

  Cooking dinner, putting away laundry, or even just walking across your living room can be exhausting when you have COPD, heart failure, or another long-term (chronic) condition. You may feel at times as though you've lost your ability to live your...

• A Good Support System Is Important

  Learn how to connect with family, friends, and others for support with health issues.

• Depression, Anxiety, and Physical Health Problems

  It's not unusual for mental health problems, especially depression and anxiety, to occur with long-term (chronic) diseases. For example, you may: Have diabetes and also feel very sad. Be depressed and notice that your physical health is getting worse. Perhaps your blood pressure is going up. Have...

• Eating Right When You Have More Than One Health Problem

  You know that eating right is good for you. But if you have more than one health problem, eating right may seem hard to do. Here's an example: If you have heart disease and diabetes, you may be given guidelines for each. One focuses on keeping your heart healthy and the other on keeping your blood sugar in your target...

• Being Active When You Have More Than One Health Problem

  When you are living with health problems, regular exercise and activity are important. They keep you healthier, give you energy, make you stronger, and help your mood. Exercise and activity can help many health problems. An active body is less likely to give in to diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, arthritis...

• Planning to Be More Active When You Have Chronic Disease

  Use this sheet to list what you enjoy and what is hard for you. You and your doctor can use this information to come up with an activity plan. How active are you? Describe what you do to stretch, strengthen, and move your body. Write down how often and how long you do each activity. What would you like to do? List...

• Regular Checkup for a Lifelong Condition

  Print this form and fill in the following information if this is a regularly scheduled appointment with your health professional. What questions or concerns do I want addressed during this appointment? Do I have any new symptoms? Yes ___ No ___ If yes, include how long I have had them and what helps relieve...