How can I live well with HF?

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In general, regular consumption of alcohol is discouraged for people with heart failure, since alcohol may worsen cardiac function if used in excess. The amount of alcohol that is safe to drink for any given person with heart failure is unclear, so most clinicians recommend either abstaining from alcohol altogether, or limiting alcohol consumption to small quantities (for example, one standard drink) on special occasions. Your doctor may sanction higher levels of alcohol consumption…

Smoking is bad for everyone, but it is especially bad for people with heart failure. Smoking can make your heart failure worse. It can also increase your risk for lung and other cancers, heart attack, stroke, and many other conditions. Ask your doctor about quit-smoking resources. Quit-smoking medications, including nicotine replacement therapy, can help with cravings and withdrawal symptoms. And behavior therapy can provide strategies to address the psychological and behavioral components of a…

Ventricular tachycardia is a fast but regular heart rhythm. It is common in people with heart failure. The heart is a muscle that has four chambers through which blood flows. The two upper chambers are the atria. The two lower chambers are the ventricles. Under normal circumstances, the walls of the atria contract at the same time, pumping blood into the lower two chambers (the ventricles). Then the walls of the ventricles contract at…

Worsening heart failure can make it difficult to get a good nights rest. Thats because fluid collecting in the lungs makes breathing difficult when youre lying flat. You may notice that you need more pillows than usual to sleep comfortably. Or that you wheeze, feel your chest tighten, or cant stop coughing when you lie back. You may wake up during the night and feel like youre drowning, or like you cant breathe.…

People with heart failure may worry that sex could trigger a heart attack or worsen heart failure symptoms. The truth is that sex does pose some risk, but primarily for those with more severe heart failure. Sexual activity requires about the same degree of exertion as walking at two to four miles per hour on a level surface. In other words, it has less of an impact on heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen…

For people with heart failure, depression and fatigue are common and serious problems. Depression often follows heart attack, a frequent precursor to heart failure. Heart failure itself can contribute to fatigue, and certain heart failure treatments, such as beta blockers, may increase this. Depression can lead to poor motivation, trouble concentrating, and lack of hope for the future. Combine this with the physical exhaustion of heart failure, and it may come as no…