What can I do to improve my quality of life?

Patients who work to control their symptoms, studies have shown, have improved outlooks and fewer symptoms than those patients who just “go through the motions.” Speak to your doctor, nurse, and pharmacist. Learn all you can about your disease, what your symptoms mean, and how to treat them. Find out how you can help yourself. It will pay off. Some suggestions of taking control of your disease and your life include:

Be aware of your body. A great way to avoid worsening of your symptoms is to detect them early and then do something about it. Every CHF patient should have an accurate scale in his or her house. They should weigh themselves every day at the same time of day. Increases of 3 lbs in 24 hours or 5 lbs in a week should prompt a call to your doctor. Watch out for increased shortness of breath, swelling in the hands and feet, or an inability to lie flat in bed. These are symptoms of worsening CHF and they will not improve without treatment.

Eat a healthy diet. Limit your consumption of sodium (salt) to less than 2,000 milligrams (2 grams) each day. Eat foods high in fiber and potassium. Limit foods high in fat, cholesterol, and sugar. Reduce your total daily intake of calories to lose weight if necessary.

Exercise regularly. A regular cardiovascular exercise program, prescribed by your doctor, will help improve symptoms and strength and make you feel better. It may also decrease heart failure progression. A cardiac rehabilitation program is a good place to start.

Conserve your energy. Plan your activities and include rest periods during the day. Certain activities, such as pushing or pulling heavy objects and shoveling, may worsen heart failure and its symptoms. Learn what your limitations are and don’t overdo it. Too much exercise or emotional stress can worsen your symptoms.

Prevent respiratory infections. Although CHF patients don’t necessarily get more respiratory infections, they can suffer more with the symptoms than someone who does not have CHF. Annual flu shots and a pneumococcal vaccine every 5 years are recommended. Ask your doctor about getting these vaccines.

Take your medications as prescribed.Learn about your medications. Studies show that patients who are more familiar with what their medications do and why they have to take them are more compliant with their doctor’s recommendations and spend less time in the hospital with heart failure symptoms. Your physician and pharmacists are excellent sources of information. Many times the manufacturer of the drug has a telephone number you can call for more information. Do not stop taking medications without first contacting your doctor.

Get emotional or psychological support if needed. An episode with heart failure can be difficult for your whole family. Many people with CHF suffer from depression; counseling and antidepressant medication can help. If you have questions, ask your doctor or nurse. If you need emotional support, social workers, psychologists, clergy, and heart failure support groups are a phone call away. Ask your doctor or nurse to point you in the right direction.

Victoria’s comment:

This is good advice. When you get sick the first time, you start to realize that you can’t do everything yourself and you have to start to ask for help. This was not easy for me. I like to think that I can handle things myself. I started asking for help from my doctors, my husband, my kids, and even my neighbors. I was surprised how quickly most people responded. I was able to get a lot of things done through other people and still do those things that I enjoyed personally. For example, I can send my husband shopping for food, but still enjoy preparing meals.

I had to focus on myself more than I did before. I had to think about my diet, my medications, and my doctors’ appointments. In the beginning, this made me feel guilty. But I was the only one who could manage these things and I couldn’t expect anyone else to do it for me. So now I do it and feel better about managing my disease, rather than letting it manage me.