Heart Failure: Track Your Symptoms
Learn to keep track of your symptoms to help manage your heart failure.
Learn to keep track of your symptoms to help manage your heart failure.
Use this form to record the sodium content of the foods you eat or drink each day. This record will help you see whether you are getting too much sodium in your diet. Use the Nutrition Facts on food labels to help find how much sodium you eat. You can tell when your body retains fluid by weighing yourself often. Sodium...
Discusses need to watch fluid intake with heart failure. Gives tips for keeping track of fluid intake, spreading fluids throughout the day, and managing thirst.
Learn how to easily check your symptoms daily so you can stay healthy.
Find out what heart failure is, what it means when it's high, and how it's treated.
Learn how to know when changes in your symptoms mean you should get help.
Learn why you need a written plan to know when heart failure symptoms are an emergency.
Find what motivates you to add a little activity to your life and benefit your heart.
Hear how one woman found the support she needed to make heart-healthy choices.
Covers walking as one of the easiest ways to increase your physical activity and improve health. Outlines how to safely start a walking program. Provides tips for staying motivated.
Hear what motivated other people to make changes to keep their heart healthy.
Discusses heart murmur, an extra sound the blood makes as it flows through the heart. Covers harmless (innocent) murmurs and abnormal murmurs. Includes info on heart valve damage. Discusses tests by a cardiologist including electrocardiogram (ECG).
A heart murmur is a sound made by blood moving through the chambers and valves of the heart or through the blood vessels near the heart. The sounds can be heard through a stethoscope. Heart murmurs are common in infants and children and are harmless in most cases. The murmurs usually are not a problem, require no...
Many things can make the heart beat faster or slower than usual. Some common examples are: Stress. Pain. Illness or fever. Dehydration. Exercise. Panic attacks. Stimulants, such as caffeine and nicotine. Medicine side effects.
Topic guides reader through decision to get a pacemaker for heart rate problems. Provides general overview of what pacemakers are and what heart problems can be helped with pacemakers. Lists benefits and possible complications of getting a pacemaker.
Is it okay to drive if you have an arrhythmia? You can drive with an arrhythmia as long as it doesn't cause symptoms that make it dangerous for you to drive. If you have an arrhythmia or an ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) that makes it dangerous for you to drive, your doctor might suggest that you stop...
If your doctor thinks you might have a heart rhythm problem, your doctor may ask you to keep a diary of symptoms. This information can help your doctor find out what type of rhythm problem you have. And if you have a rhythm problem, a symptom diary can help you keep track of your condition. You can then discuss your...
Topic guides reader through decision to get an ICD for heart rhythm problems. Provides general overview of what ICDs are and what heart rhythm problems can be helped with ICDs. Lists benefits and possible complications of getting an ICD.
Heart rhythm problems, called arrhythmias, can cause a few types of symptoms. Some of these symptoms include: Palpitations. Having palpitations means that you are unusually aware of your heartbeat. Some people describe them as: A "fluttering" in their chest. A "skipped beat." A "pounding sensation." A feeling that the...
How can tests for your heart help you? Heart tests can help your doctor find out if you have or are at risk for a heart problem and what treatment you might need. The tests help doctors find out what's causing new symptoms, such as discomfort in your chest, shortness of breath, and irregular heartbeats. The tests can...
For a heart transplant, the diseased heart is removed and replaced with the donated heart. During the surgery, a mechanical pump moves blood through the body.
A heart transplant is a procedure in which a surgeon removes a diseased heart and replaces it with a donor heart. During a heart transplant, a mechanical pump circulates blood through the body while the surgeon removes the diseased heart and replaces it with a healthy heart from a recently deceased donor. The surgeon...
Heart valve disease occurs when a heart valve is damaged or narrowed and does not control or allow the normal flow of blood through and out of the heart. Causes of heart valve disease include congenital heart disease, an abnormal valve, or a rupture of a valve. Heart valves operate like one-way gates, helping blood flow...
What are the types of heart valve disease? Heart valve disease can affect any of the four valves. A valve may not be able to open well enough (stenosis) or close well enough (regurgitation). Heart valve diseases include: Aortic valve regurgitation. Aortic valve stenosis. Mitral valve regurgitation. Mitral valve...
Learn how surgery is done to repair or replace heart valves.
The ventricles are the two lower chambers of the heart, one on the right and one on the left. The ventricles receive blood from the heart's upper chambers (atria) and pump it to the rest of the body. The right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs, and the left ventricle pumps blood to the rest of the body.
Learn how to start eating foods that are good for your heart.
Heart-healthy eating means eating food that can help lower your risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. It focuses on eating more healthy foods and cutting back on foods that aren't so good for you. It is part of a heart-healthy lifestyle that includes regular activity and not smoking. A heart-healthy eating...
Fish is a lean protein source that contains omega-3 fatty acids. This type of fat can be part of a heart-healthy diet. Fish oil supplements are another way to get omega-3 fatty acids. Research has not proved that fish oil is helpful for everyone. That's why doctors do not agree about whether these supplements can help...
You can help keep your heart and blood vessels healthy by having a heart-healthy lifestyle. These healthy habits include eating healthy, being active, staying at a weight that's healthy for you, getting the screening tests you need, and not smoking. A heart-healthy lifestyle is important for everyone, not just for...