Heart Failure Personal Stories
Managing heart failure (HF) can be a daunting task, but you have every reason to be hopeful. Real patients share their experiences. AHA's Heart Failure Ambassadors
Making Shared Decisions About Heart Failure
Working through challenges Advanced heart failure is a complex condition that involves difficult decisions. You may experience emotional struggles and roadblocks. But charting a clear path through the shared decision-making process is possible. Recognize a barrier and work with your healthcare team to break it down. Barriers to shared decision-making – and solutions to overcome them – include: Barrier: Fear, anger, stress or other emotions Solution: Strong emotions can interfere with your ability to process information and make good
Communicating With Your Advanced Heart Failure Health Care Team
Making the right decisions starts with asking questions Good communication with your health care team can help you get the most out of your doctor's visits. Knowing what questions to ask and understanding what your health care provider is saying can help you feel confident that you're getting the best care. Communication is also the core of shared decision-making in advanced heart failure. You and your doctor should discuss your preferences and
Planning for Advanced Heart Failure
Plan for peace of mind An important part of shared decision-making in advanced heart failure is to clarify what you would want done when future events occur – including unexpected ones. Would you want a feeding tube? CPR? Would you want a tube placed down your throat to help you breathe? The process of anticipating future scenarios and communicating your preferences is called advance care planning. It allows you to speak for yourself, even
Recognizing Advanced Heart Failure and Knowing Your Options
Understanding your medical situation Having advanced heart failure doesn’t mean you’ve run out of treatment options. In fact, the increasing number of therapies and state-of-the-art technologies for advanced heart failure provide more choices than ever. This is why shared decision-making helps. Your doctor knows your medical situation best and can narrow treatment possibilities to the most appropriate options for you. Together, you sort through the options and consider how each treatment fits
Advanced Heart Failure
Even for Advanced HF, there are treatment options When heart failure (HF) progresses to an advanced stage, difficult decisions must be made. Do I want to receive aggressive treatment? Is quality of life more important than living as long as possible? How do I feel about resuscitation? For advanced heart failure patients and their doctors, making good decisions requires teamwork. Through shared decision-making, doctors and patients consider both the options and the
Help For Heart Failure Caregivers
Friends and family can often provide much-needed support. Managing heart failure isn't always easy. Physically, many people with heart failure often can't handle all the tasks they once could. They also have to change their lives – eating differently, remembering medications, paying closer attention to their bodies and reducing stress. These changes can be hard because they often require breaking long-held habits. But the changes are usually easier to make when loved
Your Heart Failure Health Care Team
If you have heart failure, it’s important to develop good relationships with all members of your health care team. Talk to them openly and honestly. Keep them informed about symptoms or changes in your condition so that they can help you. And follow their recommendations to manage your condition and have a full, active life. Download Partnering in your treatment: questions to ask your doctor (PDF) | Spanish (PDF) Your health care team may include: The
COVID-19 and Heart Failure
COVID-19 restrictions are easing. What does that mean for heart failure patients? Although the coronavirus is still a major health threat, restrictions are easing across the nation. That leaves many people— including heart failure patients — wondering if it’s safe to go out in public and get back to a normal routine. The most important thing to remember is that people with heart disease, including heart failure, are at risk of getting
Physical Changes to Report for Heart Failure
Talk with your provider about symptoms to report Heart failure requires you and your caregivers to pay close attention to any changes in symptoms. If you notice something new, or a sudden worsening of a current symptom, notify your healthcare professional immediately. Watch for: Rapid weight gain — Ask your doctor about the amount of weight gain you should report to him or her. It’s so important for people with heart failure to weigh