The treatment of heart failure depends on the exact cause, but it can usually be treated effectively. The overall goals of treatment are to correct underlying causes, to relieve symptoms, and to prevent worsening of the condition. Symptoms are relieved by removing excess fluid from the body, improving blood flow, improving heart muscle function, and increasing delivery of oxygen to the body tissues.
Self-Care at Home
Congestive heart failure is a serious medical condition that requires professional medical help.
Once diagnosed and under the care of a qualified medical professional, you can and should do several things at home to increase your comfort and reduce the chance of your condition getting worse.
In fact, the more active role you take in managing your heart failure, the more likely you are to do well.
Making the lifestyle changes described here will make a real difference. Not only will you feel better, but you will be increasing your chances of a longer, healthier life.
Treat swelling with the following measures:
Elevate the feet and legs if they are swollen.
Eat a reduced-salt diet.
Weigh in every morning before breakfast and record it in a diary that can be shown to a health care provider.
Avoid the following:
Not taking prescribed medications
Smoking (in all forms)
Alcohol (up to 1 drink per day is usually fine, unless prone to excessive intake/alcoholism)
Keep walking or join a cardiac rehabilitation program (this program can monitor increasing or decreasing exercise capacity)
Excessive emotional stress and/or depression (Moderate-to-severe mental depression has been shown to double mortality risk.)
High altitude (Breathing is more difficult because of the lower level of oxygen in the atmosphere; pressurized cabin air travel is usually fine.)
Herbal or other complementary medicine without first consulting a doctor to see if they are safe
Know the following:
People with diabetes must control their blood sugar level every day. Know the HbA1C level. It should be less than 7.0, preferably less than 6.5.
People with high blood pressure should measure it regularly, and make sure they know the value, (systolic pressure should be below 140 mm Hg in everyone and even below 130 if the person has diabetes).
People with elevated lipid levels (cholesterol and triglycerides) can take medications to get the bad cholesterol, or LDL, below 100, and the triglycerides below 150.
Medical Treatment
If no underlying correctible cause of heart failure is established, medical treatment is composed of lifestyle changes and medications.
Lifestyle changes recommended by your health care provider can help relieve symptoms, slow the progression of heart failure, and improve one’s quality of life. Lifestyle changes that may be helpful in preventing or relieving heart failure include those recommended by the American Heart Association and other organizations as part of a heart-healthy lifestyle. See Self-Care at Home for more information.
Medications help control both the underlying causes of heart failure and the symptoms. Medications are the most critical part of therapy for heart failure. Usually, several types of medications are required to address as many of the physiologic imbalances as possible.
Procedures
Other treatment or procedures, such as angioplasty or a pacemaker, may be offered, depending on the underlying cause of the heart failure.
Angioplasty: This is an alternative to coronary bypass surgery for some people whose heart failure is caused by coronary artery disease and is compounded by heart damage/heart attack. Angioplasty is used to treat narrowing or blockage of a coronary artery that supplies the left ventricle with blood.
A long, thin tube called a catheter is inserted through the skin, into a blood vessel, and threaded into the affected artery. This procedure is performed while the person is under local anesthesia.
At the point of the atherosclerotic narrowing or blockage, a tiny balloon and/or an expandable metal stent, attached to the end of the catheter, is inflated/deployed.
The inflated catheter pushes aside the cholesterol deposits (plaque) that are blocking the artery so that blood can flow through in a more normal manner.
Pacemaker: This device controls the rhythm of the heartbeats.
A pacemaker is an electrode on the tip of a wire, usually implanted inside the heart by an electrophysiologist or specialized cardiologist in the cardiac cath lab. This wire goes to the right ventricle, frequently with a second wire to the right atrium (dual chamber pacemaker).
A pacemaker can stimulate a heart that is beating too slowly to beat faster, or it can control an irregular heartbeat (sometimes, this requires medications in addition to the pacemaker). In certain circumstances, a device called an intracardiac defibrillator (ICD) may be implanted as part of a pacemaker device. This defibrillator can detect and electrically shock a life-threatening arrhythmia back to normal.
The pacemaker may also be used to synchronize the pumping action of the left and right ventricles (cardiac resynchronization therapy). This approach requires an extra lead placed behind the heart in a coronary vein overlying the left ventricle. Synchronization improves the effectiveness of the heart as a pump.
Circulatory System
Circulatory System, or cardiovascular system, in humans, the combined function of the heart, blood, and blood vessels to transport oxygen and nutrients to organs and tissues throughout the body and carry away waste products. Among its vital functions, the circulatory system increases the flow of blood to meet increased energy demands during exercise and regulates body temperature.
