With heart failure, your heart is not pumping as well as it should. In addition to working closing with your provider and care team, you can manage your heart failure well with self-care behaviors. By practicing good self-management, you can have an improved quality of life by feeling better, staying out of the hospital, and living longer.

How Can I Manage My Heart Failure at Home?

Take Your Medications as Prescribed

• Take your medications regularly at the dose prescribed by your provider.
• Do not take any vitamins, herbals, or over the counter medications without discussing with your provider.
• Always keep your current medication list with you.
• Tell your doctor if you are having any problems with your medications, such as frequent urination, dizziness, changes in blood pressure.

Weigh Yourself Daily at Home

• Weigh yourself without clothing, on the same scale in the morning before breakfast every day.
• Capture your weight in a log or via a technology solution.
• Call your care manager right away if you have gained 2 pounds in 2 days or 5 pounds in 5 days. If care manager is unavailable, call your provider.

Eat A Low Salt Diet

• Limit your salt intake to 1 teaspoon (2,000 mg) or less per day. Be sure to include all the salt you eat in cooked, canned, packaged, or processed foods.
• Read food labels and avoid high sodium (salt) foods.
• Prepare low sodium (salt) meals. There are several seasoning mixes that do not contain sodium.
• Talk to your friends and loved ones about your salt restrictions. Ask them to consider making low salt meals if preparing food for you.

Keep Active

• Keep active for at least 20 minutes 3 days per week. Warm up before and cool down after exercise for 5 minutes.
• Start with light exercise like walking for 5 minutes every day.
• Talk to your care manager about alternative exercise options if you cannot walk safely.
• Increase the distance and/or speed that you walk a little more every day. If unable to walk safely, consider adding weight to your chair activities.
• Stop and rest if you experience chest pain, shortness of breath, lightheaded, or dizziness while you are walking. Inform your care manager or provider of these symptoms immediately.
• Get enough rest at night; aim for 7-8 hours.

Follow A Healthy Lifestyle

• Do not smoke. Tell your provider if you need help quitting smoking.
• Limit alcohol to 2 drinks daily for men and 1 drink daily for women.
• Get your influenza shot every year and your pneumococcal vaccine as instructed by your provider.

Monitor Your Symptoms Daily

• Watch for changes in your health daily.
• Monitor and track your symptoms in your daily log. Be sure to indicate days when you have no symptoms as well as days when you do have symptoms.
• Contact your care manager or provider immediately if you develop worsening or new symptoms.