Regular follow-up with your health care team is an important part of
managing your heart failure.
- Keep all scheduled appointments with your doctor or nurse. Frequent
contact with your doctor or nurse will increase your chances of staying on track
with your treatment plan.
- If you have questions about your condition, write them down and bring
them with you to your appointments.
- If you have urgent questions, ask your doctor or nurse.
- If you see any other doctor, notify him or her about your heart
failure medicines, diet, or fluid modifications. Keep your list of medications
(names, amounts, and times taken) and allergies in your wallet or purse to
answer questions that the doctor or nurse may ask you.
- It is very important to manage other conditions such as diabetes or
high blood pressure. Keeping these conditions under control will help you to
manage your heart failure.
- Call your heart failure doctor or nurse if you are prescribed
medications or over-the-counter drugs or supplements by another doctor.
Sometimes, a medication for one medical problem may interfere with the action of
a heart failure medicine.
- Make sure you know what to do if you have a virus, the flu, or a
fever. Remember, do not take any over-the-counter drugs or supplements unless
you ask your doctor or nurse first.
- Talk to your doctor or nurse if you are having sexual problems or feel
depressed.
- Know your ejection fraction (EF). This number indicates how well your
heart pumps with each heart beat. A normal EF is generally greater than 60
percent, which means that over half of the blood entering your heart is pumped
out of the heart with each beat.
- Talk to your doctor or nurse about getting the flu shot every
year and a pneumonia vaccine every five years so you can stay healthy.
Sources
www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/5360_HFGuidelineFinal.pdf
www.hfsa.org/hf_guidelines.asp