Heart Failure
Living With Heart Failure
Your attitude and level of participation in your treatment can strongly impact how you feel. Taking care of yourself will help you feel better and improve your health so that you can enjoy life. Taking your medicines as directed, controlling your diet, and getting regular exercise are lifestyle changes that are key to controlling heart failure symptoms and preventing sudden heart failure.
- Limit sodium intake. Your doctor also may want you to monitor your fluid intake.
- Take your medicines as directed. If you don't, your heart failure may get worse, or you may develop sudden heart failure. For more information, see:
- Try to avoid nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), such as ibuprofen. And be careful using non-prescription medicines because they may make your heart failure worse.
- Your doctor may advise you to take a low-dose ASA (such as Aspirin) every day to prevent a stroke or heart attack. But higher doses of ASA may make your heart failure worse.
- Exercise regularly. If you aren't already active, your doctor may want you to begin an exercise program. Exercise programs have been shown to improve quality of life and reduce the rate of adverse cardiac events in people with heart failure.4 Try to do activities that raise your heart rate. Exercise for at least 30 minutes on most, preferably all, days of the week. For more information, see the topic Cardiac Rehabilitation. For information on starting and maintaining an exercise program, see:
- Try to lose weight if you are overweight. Eating a heart-healthy diet and exercising regularly should naturally help you lose weight.
- Stop smoking, because smoking increases your risk for heart disease and makes it more difficult to exercise. Avoid second-hand smoke too.
- Avoid overuse of alcohol. For more information, see the topic Alcohol Abuse and Dependence.
- Try some tips for easier breathing, such as elevating your upper body to allow fluid to drain from your lungs.
- Monitor your body weight.
- Avoid respiratory infections. Stay up to date on vaccinations for flu and pneumonia.
- Avoid triggers for sudden heart failure. For more information, see:
Throughout the course of your heart failure, you may need to cope with both physical limitations and emotional issues that affect your ability to lead an active life.
Because heart failure is a lifelong condition, you will have dozens—perhaps even hundreds—of appointments with various health professionals during your experience with the disease. Learning how to work with health professionals who are treating your heart failure will benefit you by allowing them to better control your symptoms and tailor your treatment to your own needs.
Some hospitals have specialized heart care clinics that can help you learn about heart failure. You may see a nurse practitioner, who can offer advice and arrange for your care in a hospital, on short notice, if you should need it.
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| Author: | Douglas Dana Robin Parks, MS | Last Updated: October 23, 2006 |
| Medical Review: | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Stephen Fort, MD, MRCP, FRCPC - Interventional Cardiology | |
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